


Everything And Nothing

by heytheregisela



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Infected, M/M, Mavin, Raywood, TLOU AU, The Last of Us AU, Zombie Apocalypse, death but not major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-26 21:55:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 59,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5021944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytheregisela/pseuds/heytheregisela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[<i>The Last of Us</i> AU] Once a person was bit, they were infected, and then destined to a cruel fate. That was the way the world worked and Gavin Free knew that far too well after ten years of living through it. So when his ex best friend from nine years earlier comes back into his life, he begins to question all that he’s learned. There’s an explanation for everything, though, isn’t there? Well, one thing’s for sure, Michael Jones is certainly no longer the nineteen year old he once loved so dearly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> So, I’m not ultimately following TLOU’s exact story line. I’m kind of creating my own story while still staying true to the world of the game (ex: the different kinds of infected that exist). There’ll also be parallels you’ll instantly recognize. Oh, and this is already fully written out. Part two will be released next Saturday, and then part three will be out the following Saturday (which is perfect because that’s Halloween, heh). After this is over and if people really want me to continue sometime, then I might work with something. :) But for now, enjoy part one!

_Ten years earlier_

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected question, but he turned away from the window to find his best friend standing in the doorway staring at him curiously. And Gavin couldn’t help but smile, as he always did whenever Michael surprised him with a visit.

“I didn’t even hear you come in,” he told him, as if he were bothered. Michael knew it was quite the opposite, though.

“Which leads me back to _my_ question – what the fuck are you doing? What’s so interesting about your neighbor’s house that you have to stare at it so much?” Michael then feigned a gasp, “ _Gavin_ _Free_ , are you _spying_ on the girl next door?”

“W- _what_?”

“You little shit, you _are_!”

“ _Michael_!”

Michael was laughing now, that infectious laugh that usually made Gavin smile from just hearing it. Right now, however, Gavin wanted to shut him up.

“I’m not spying on her to be creepy-”

“Wait, so you admit it?” It was almost amusing how quickly Michael stopped laughing to ask.

“She’s been… _sick_ ,” Gavin explained.

“Okay? So are a _bunch_ of other people in the world sometimes.”

“No, Michael, listen,” Gavin walked over to where Michael had just sat down – his bed. He sat down next to him. “She has symptoms I’ve never heard of with the common cold, or even the flu! Actually, it’s kind of the combination of both, and her head is always terribly bothering her.”

“Well, headaches do happen when you’re sick, Gav.”

“No, but…” Gavin trailed, sighing in defeat. This was going nowhere. “Forget it,” he said.

“No, tell me – I’m listening.”

“No, Michael, it’s fine. I might be overthinking this,” he offered a weak smile.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I guess I’m worried it’s going to get worse and she’s going to end up in the hospital. I overheard her mum the other day talking with someone on the phone and she didn’t sound so great. I think they were talking about her.”

Michael pursed his lips and flickered his attention toward the window across from Gavin’s. “Whatever’s wrong with her, I’m sure doctors will help, or at least make her feel better somehow.”

“It just makes me realize how little time we really do have.”

“Oh, god, Gavin, don’t go there. She’s not going to die.”

“Maybe not and I’m not saying she is, but anything can happen, and it just makes me think about everything I’ve done so far in my life,” Gavin turned his body more to face Michael better, “Do you ever feel like making an impact on the world?” Michael’s eyebrows kept twitching together as he attempted to make sense of everything Gavin was saying. Why were they even having this conversation? This wasn’t the specific reason he’d come over to see Gavin.

“I… I don’t know,” he finally answered, lying back.

“Well, you’ve just graduated. What do you plan on doing next?” Gavin asked and Michael swallowed hard. There was the reason he’d come over.

Michael averted his eyes, opening and closing his mouth, because everything he’d rehearsed was suddenly gone. This couldn’t be difficult. His mom even helped him walk through it that morning, too! He was sure he had it down. He propped himself up on his elbows and shrugged, mentally cursing. “You know I haven’t really thought about it,” he lied.

Gavin smiled at him, lying back as well. “You’re going to just hang around here, then?”

“You make it sound like it’s fucking awful. I get to be here with _you_.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of other places you have in mind that you’d rather be.”

“Yeah, doesn’t everyone have a list of a shit ton of places they wanna visit or live? But Gavin, even if I were to go somewhere else, we’d still be close. We’re a team,” Michael forced the corners of his lips to rise as he looked up at him. Gavin’s smile only widened into a lopsided grin.

“A team,” he repeated, like he was testing the word out. Judging by that grin that wasn’t going away anytime soon, Michael concluded Gavin _loved_ the sound of that. So Michael continue to smile as well, because he too liked the way it sounded. Gavin then took a deep breath and pushed himself up until his face was mere inches from Michael’s. And Michael stiffened for a moment, but when Gavin’s lips were up against his, he relaxed.

It wasn’t anything passionate or heated; rather, it was just one long press of their puckered lips. Gavin was the first one to pull back with a breathy laugh and Michael couldn’t help but be the one grinning now. But then Gavin’s expression turned completely serious that Michael had to ask what was wrong.

“I… I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Gavin practically whispered. Michael frowned as he saw the urgency in those green eyes. He subtly looked down and placed his hand over the watch on Gavin’s wrist, the one he’d given him for his seventeenth birthday.

“Well, lucky for you, you won’t have to figure that out,” he told him and he ignored the nagging voice in his mind telling him otherwise, because Gavin’s smile had returned, and that’s all that mattered to him.

 

* * *

 

_Present_

“Are you daydreaming _again_?”

Gavin blinked hard, shaking himself out of his own thoughts. As a matter of fact, he had been. He turned away from the view of the deserted city and said, “I wasn’t. I heard every _single_ thing you said, Ray.”

Ray’s face seemed to brighten at that, though he folded his arms across his chest. “Oh, yeah? Then tell me, Gavin, what _did_ I just say?” That was his challenging tone.

 _Bloody hell_ , Gavin sighed. “Uh, you said that we need to keep a look out, because we heard a few clickers back there and haven’t seen them yet. They could pop out at any time.” He honestly thought he had nailed it, but with Ray’s unreadable expression, he just couldn’t tell.

And then Ray snorted. “That’s funny, because I actually haven’t said a _thing_ since we got up here.” Gavin’s mouth fell open.

“You tricked me!”

“ _No_. You’re the one that just assumed I said something! I’ve been trying to figure out which direction would be the best for us to go in, and then I looked over and noticed you staring off like you always do! But hey, I appreciate you pretending like you listen to me,” Ray grinned at him. Gavin rolled his eyes and walked over to stand by his side.

“Alright, so there’s a ladder over there, but it’s broken halfway, so we’ll have to make the rest of the way down with a jump. Think you can handle it?” Ray asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with so we can get back already,” Gavin grumbled, heading over to the ladder on the side of the building they were standing on top of. He went down first and almost lost his balance when he jumped off and landed on his feet.

Ray, on the other hand, managed to successfully land without stumbling. Gavin glared at him a little for that, but Ray didn’t seem to notice, or just didn’t bother to joke about it as Gavin had expected. Either way, they continued on.

“How much further until we get to Ryan’s place? We _have_ to be back on time for curfew,” Gavin reminded him. Ray waved him off.

“Not far now. Besides, this little trip will be worth any trouble we might find ourselves in on the way back.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Ah, don’t be so dramatic.”

“I just can’t believe you convinced me to come with you. I should have made you leave me alone so you could go ask Ashley or Turney.”

Ray glanced over at him with a smirk. “You wouldn’t have let me invite Meg even if I tried. I know you have a thing for her- no, shut the fuck up with that look. You do.” Gavin had immediately raised an eyebrow when Ray had made that accusation, and now he was shaking his head.

“I don’t have the time to have a _thing_ for anyone and I’d appreciate it if you stopped acting like we’re in high school. For god’s sake, I’m twenty-seven and you’re twenty-six.”

“Okay, anyway,” Ray moved up ahead and paused at the edge of the next building. He slowly peeked over for any signs of danger, but everything looked as clear as could be. “We have to get past this area, then over the fence, and the blue house should be Ryan’s.”

“Good.”

“But listen,” Ray looked back at Gavin, “Ryan’s, uh… he’s… really _something_ , if you know what I mean.” Gavin tilted his head to the side and both of his eyebrows shot up.

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“Oh, who’s the one acting like they’re in high school now?”

“I’m sorry, but the thought of you…” Gavin trailed off, deciding it was best to drop the conversation here before it lead somewhere he didn’t want it to. Ray being the person he was, was intrigued.

“Don’t act like you’ve never thought of it, you and me,” he winked, the corners of his lips twitching, though he was resisting that crooked smile so badly. Without waiting for Gavin’s response, Ray hurried around the corner to run toward the fence.

“Now it’s you that I have a thing for?” Gavin called out, following him. Ray merely laughed.

They ran through another alley before reaching the fence and Gavin stood back as he watched Ray swiftly climb over it. On the other side, Ray spun around and gestured for Gavin to get a move on. Gavin pulled up his pants a bit and _slowly_ made his way up and over while Ray kept a look out.

“Does Ryan think you’re going to be alone?”

“Yeah, probably, but I don’t think he’ll be surprised that I brought someone with me. Man, hurry up.”

Gavin resisted groaning or rolling his eyes, but he did quicken his movements until he was finally jumping over and standing next to Ray again. Ray walked on to lead the way down the street, and sure enough, a blue house came into view, residing between two torn down homes. Considering that damage, the blue house hardly looked like anything terrible had ever occurred around it; it was perfectly intact. Gavin had never personally met Ryan Haywood, yet from the countless stories he’d heard from Ray, he could put together that Ryan was definitely the kind of person to keep things in order like that in times of hell.

“Here we go,” Ray said, slowing his steps as he approached the front door. Although he brought his fist up to knock, it was proven worthless, because the door flung open before he could even try. Gavin took a step back at the sight of the tall man now standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Ryan,” Ray casually greeted.

“Finally,” Ryan replied, the ghost of a smile dancing on his lips. He moved aside, allowing Ray inside, but when it was turn for Gavin to enter, he squinted his eyes and covered the way slightly. “Who are you?”

“That’s Gavin, he’s cool,” Ray answered. Gavin shrugged at that.

“Hmm, yeah, I think you’ve mentioned him before,” Ryan said back as he gave Gavin the room to walk inside. Gavin mumbled a “thanks” as he went on in, and then the door was shut behind him. Ryan rushed back into the living room where Ray was now waiting for them.

Gavin took his time getting there, his eyes scanning every inch of the house that he could see. Part of him couldn’t tell if this had been Ryan’s actual house before or if it was a stranger’s house he took over. It was usually the latter with most people, but with Ryan, who knew. There weren’t any photos to determine either answer.

“Okay,” Ray clapped his hands together, “Show me what I came here for.”

Gavin leaned against the wall once he joined them, more content with watching this exchange from afar than right in front of them. Ryan nodded and reached behind the couch to pull out the brown canvas backpack. He placed it onto the coffee table and allowed Ray to freely search through it. Gavin couldn’t recall the last time he saw Ray so enthralled in something; he was like a child who’d just been presented with a new toy. It was kind of rubbing off Gavin that he even moved forward a little to get a better look himself.

Ray began with the main front pocket, carelessly pulling on the straps to open it up, and when he reached in, he grabbed at whatever he touched first. Tentatively, he took out a different kind of pistol he’d never seen before. Ryan could sense that, so he answered his unasked question, “It’s called a ‘Shorty’, a one-handed shotgun. Works pretty well, but it only carries two shells, so make the shots worth it. There’s a few other handguns in there, too, along with ammo for some of them. The rest is pretty much food, maps to different cities, and oh- either of you good with a bow?”

“I’ve practiced a bit with archery,” Gavin spoke up.

“The person I got this stuff from was also carrying this around,” Ryan was talking as he headed toward the fireplace. He picked up the neatly carved bow, along with a small quiver stacked with arrows, and held it out for Gavin.

“You’re just going to give that to me?” Gavin asked.

“I guess it’s technically Ray’s, because I did promise Ray I was going to give him everything I got from the damn Firefly.”

“Yeah, well, I brought Gavin here to share with him. So, go on and give it to him,” Ray told him. Ryan held it out for Gavin again, and this time, Gavin accepted it without any hesitation. 

“You killed a Firefly, then?” He questioned, examining his new weapon.

Ryan scrunched up his face as he thought about his answer for a moment. “Hmm, _technically_.” Gavin raised an eyebrow and Ryan smirked. “He walked right into one of the traps I have out there for infected. Not exactly my fault he couldn’t look where he was going.”

“So, poor bastard blew up?” asked Ray as he sat down. Ryan nodded.

“Yep, but I cleaned up the mess he left on his backpack.”

“Man,” Ray laughed. “What the hell is a Firefly doing out here, anyway? Don’t they have their own little corner?”

“I wouldn’t doubt he was specifically ordered to look for me, because well…” Ryan gestured toward himself with the widest and proudest grin.

“Well, _what_?” Gavin, who admittedly hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation until then, demanded. Ryan’s smile faltered.

“They hate me,” he simply answered, “ _A lot_.”

“Oh,” Gavin mouthed, though he was disinterested as to why, so there were no further questions from him. He wandered over to join Ray on the couch and to also get a look of the backpack from inside.

“Can you believe _I_ was almost a Firefly once?” Ray asked the two of them. “When this crap all started, I was _so_ close to joining them.”

“I think pretty much everyone was, whether we want to admit it or not,” Ryan said, then mumbled, “Except for me…”

“Yeah, but I was _sixteen_. I’d never even seen a gun in real life before.”

“Oh, Ryan,” Gavin spoke up again. The older man turned to face him directly with a raised eyebrow, indicating that he was listening. “ _Why_ are you giving us everything you from the dead Firefly?”

“Because he _owes_ me, Gav,” Ray answered for him. Gavin shifted his eyes toward Ray. “Yeah, I saved this guy’s life too many times to count. He’s still not done paying back, but this’ll do for now,” he further clarified. “You know how badly we’ve been lacking lately. Now we can feel safer when we go out on little trips like this.”

“Did you run two into a lot of trouble out there?” asked Ryan. 

“Heard some suspicious noises, but wherever those fuckers were hiding, we didn’t see them and they didn’t see us.”

“That’s good. Maybe you guys should get going now, then, right? I know they have that stupid, strict curfew over there.”

At that, Gavin jumped to his feet and started for the door, mumbling, “You’re right.” Ray sighed as he also stood to leave.

“Sorry we couldn’t stay long,” he told Ryan, walking backward out of the living room to remain face-to-face with him. Ryan was slowly following him, his lips quirking up into a smirk.

“Hey, maybe I’ll come by someday. You did tell me about a secret entrance, right?”

“It’s pretty risky, what with all the freaking guards everywhere and their god damn searchlights, and a _long_ way just to reach my place, but yeah, I don’t think you can miss it,” he turned around finally when he heard Gavin opening the front door. “Just try not getting yourself killed if you _do_ try.”

“Well, hey, how about I walk you both halfway right now?” Ryan then offered, reaching out to grab the door and hold it open for Ray. Gavin glanced at the two over his shoulder at that, though his eyes flickered and stayed on Ray after a moment.

“Yeah, sure,” Ray casually responded before they all heard the clicking sound of a gun being reloaded.

“Nobody move,” the stern voice demanded. Ryan curled his hands into tight fists as he glared over at the man covered in military gear, pointing his assault rifle in their direction. Ryan looked him up and down until he spotted the badge on his right arm – the Firefly symbol. Of course.

Growing impatient, Gavin also turned his head to get a look at the person threatening them, and that symbol was the first thing he spotted. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. Well, he’d encounter Fireflies before, plenty of times, but they usually left him alone if he reciprocated. They weren’t exactly the kind of people to attack without having their reasons. The Federal Disaster Response Agency absolutely _despised_ them, merely because they were why they lost grasp of past quarantine zones. But the Fireflies just didn’t want to follow the rules of the strict, power-hungry military, and they weren’t afraid of proving a point. There was a war between the two, one that led to nothing but death.  

Overall, though, Gavin had dealt with far more dangerous people before. Even so, being with a particular person who the Fireflies deemed an enemy and making him and Ray an enemy as well, wasn’t preferred.

“Haywood,” the man practically growled.

Ryan’s expression turned into a mocking one. “Hey, Ben. Long time, right?” He grinned.

Ben stepped closer to them, his aim directed more at Ryan. “Came to check up on my friend and I can’t even say I’m surprised to see that you _killed_ him, just like you’ve killed so many of our other people. Now, what is it that you got against us?” The question turned Ryan’s face to grim and Gavin almost felt sorry for Ben.

“What is that you, _Fireflies_ , _got_ against _me_?” Ryan parroted. Ray averted his eyes, preferring not to see either of their faces anymore. Christ, this wasn’t supposed to happen. They were only going to pay Ryan a quick visit to get what he owed him, and then they were going to haul their asses back. Plans always had to blow up, didn’t they? Something or someone _always_ had to come along and ruin everything, even the simplest plans.

 _I’ll make this up to you somehow, Gav_ , Ray thought to himself, half hoping Gavin could actually hear him. Ben was at a loss for words, it appeared, for he even lowered his rifle slightly to glare harder at Ryan.

“ _By the way_ , _I_ didn’t kill him; he walked into one of my traps set up for infected,” Ryan added.

“You think I’m going to believe that crap?”

“I don’t give a fuck what you believe, but _I_ am telling the truth.”

Ben gestured toward Gavin and Ray with his rifle as he said, “And you just take his things and give them to these two? Those belong to us. Give them back and I’ll walk away. I’ll pretend this didn’t happen. I’ll say I found him dead somewhere else. How does that sound? It’s a great deal, Haywood, ‘specially with how badly they want you killed.”

Ryan nodded, slowly putting his hands up. “Well, Ben, you are the most reasonable one. How can I say ‘no’ to that?” It was probably the stupidest thing Gavin had ever witnessed in the past ten years, or even just in his entire life, but Ben completely lowered the rifle and held out his hand to shake on it with Ryan. Ryan, being the man Gavin knew from the stories, quickly took out the pistol he had hidden underneath his shirt. Ben noticed, though he didn’t notice fast enough. So, before he could regain himself and aim his weapon, Ryan took his shot.

They saw a near perfect, bleeding round hole between Ben’s eyes, and then they watched Ben’s body fall flat onto the ground in front of them.

Ray sighed, shaking his head. “Just like that, huh?” He looked up at Ryan.

“Just like that,” Ryan blandly agreed. The friendliness that had been occupying his face was utterly gone and replaced with something so discourteous. Ray was silent after that and Gavin figured he needed to break the silence if they wanted to leave on a good note.

“I can’t- I don’t… _understand_ their true intentions,” he commented, and the two turned their heads to stare at him. “I know they are the only group around that are still looking for a cure-”

“Oh, fuck that,” Ryan cut him off, turning away. “ _Looking for a cure_ ,” he sounded disgusted as he started to pace back and forth. “Yeah, you know, I don’t understand, either, Gavin. I just want them to _fuck_ off and forget about me already. You make a few mistakes around them, they think you owe them your life, and you end up here,” he waved his arms around. “Then they wonder _why_ not many more people are on their side. I can’t believe the people that _willingly_ put their faith in them.”

He stopped pacing and rubbed his face. “They wanna be good people. They wanna help, but they’re the _biggest_ hypocrites. Nobody’s good anymore, not like they used to be. I’m not a good person. Neither are you two. We’ve all killed and we’ll continue to kill for our own benefit, for _survival_ ; that’s always going to be our first priority.”

Gavin reached a hand up to nervously run his fingers through his hair. Yeah, he _really_ should have told Ray to go find someone else to join him on this visit. He stared hard at Ray until Ray finally met his eye, though they were both lost as to what to do or say next.

“You guys should go,” Ryan spoke up again, tone much calmer than it just had been. “Hurry, just in case more of them come.”

“What are you going to do if more do show up?” Ray asked.

“Don’t worry about me; I’ll figure it out. Just go.”

Gavin wasn’t going to argue, he wanted to leave badly after that. So he turned around and began walking back in the direction he and Ray had come from. Ray lingered behind a little.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he whispered to Ryan. “You know where to find me, okay? You and me… we’re good. You say we look out for ourselves first and yeah, I’ll agree to that because I’ve witnessed it with other people, but… not me. I look out for others, too, and you’re one of them. So, be careful.”

Ryan just sighed and told him “Goodnight” with a pat on the back before going back into his house without another word. Ray glanced down at the backpack he had clutched in his hands and frowned.

 

* * *

 

Their journey back was actually not as long as it had felt getting to Ryan’s place, despite it being the same distance. However, it was filled with a lot of ducking behind anything that would hide them enough to safely get past any infected they ran into. From a distance, they could hear the echo of the announcement being made that it was time for everyone to be indoors. Ray mumbled an apology to Gavin, because they hadn’t gotten back in time, but Gavin assured him it would be okay. It wasn’t the first time either of them would have to sneak back in. The task wasn’t simple and they would rather avoid it altogether, but if they had to do it, they would without complaining. There was a specific route they took when sneaking back inside: through the sewers until they made it out to the other end, then getting past the opening without being spotted before they managed to sneak right into the abandoned building that held their secret passageway.

That passageway eventually helped them lead up into another that was officially a building within the zone. They knew people who resided in said building that would help them find the safest way out. But to get to their own places, they had finish off the job by going safely through the streets where guards patrolled at night.

Once they crossed a street, a step closer to where they needed to be, and after being sure no one or nothing could see them, they stood up to walk on normally for a bit.

“That was… something, wasn’t it?” asked Ray, remaining up ahead of Gavin by a few steps. Gavin pursed his lips.

“Will he be alright?”

“Ryan? Uh, I’m pretty sure. He’s caught himself in worse situations. I also doubt the Fireflies will always go after him. They have… _other_ things to go after.”

There was quiet cry of agony that sounded like it was just around the corner. They slowed their steps when they came to the conclusion of what it was.

“Runner,” Ray mouthed to him. It seemed to just be one, one they could easily grab and take down without trouble, but it was never certain if more hiding about. The last thing they needed, when they were so close to just getting back to the zone, was to get surrounded by a bunch of Runners coming at them all at once. Well, they were now better prepared, if anything of the sort were to occur…

Gavin placed a hand in front of Ray’s stomach, his other reaching back to where his backpack was slightly open and his new bow was sticking out. “I’ll take it out. You wait here,” he instructed. Ray took a deep breath to steady his increasing heartbeat and nodded. Ten long years of this and his palms still became sweaty with the thought of an infected nearby. His heart still pounded rapidly. It wasn’t something anyone could just get used to; they just grew used to having to deal with it.

Attaching an arrow to his bow, Gavin kept himself crouched as he approached the edge of the broken down market. Peeking around it, he instantly saw his target – a young boy, or what used to be a boy, with hands up to the sides of its face as it shivered and groaned every now and so, but it was mostly pained cries. Being the first stage of infected, Gavin idly wondered how much pain they were in to make them sound as horrid as they did. Could they feel it, every second of it? Every time the infection grew within their brain, could they feel it claiming more of them, taking away more of what they already were, _forcing_ them to become angrier, stronger, and deadlier?

Well, Gavin thought about it a lot, but really, he never wanted to know every little step of the process. He knew enough of what happened after getting infected and it had to end with him, and everyone else alive, destroying them before it got worse, or before they got them first. Gavin lifted his bow up, carefully aiming where he needed it to go, right at its head.

“Its” head. That was once a boy, a _human_ boy. He didn’t even look a day over fifteen. So after Gavin released the arrow and watched it strike through the infected boy’s head, he slumped his shoulders and closed his eyes for a second.

“Was that it?” Ray’s voice brought him back, and he opened his eyes to the clear view of an empty street in front of him.

“Yeah,” he answered.

 

* * *

 

They had almost been spotted a few times (“What the _fuck_ was that?”, “I heard it, too), but they managed with getting past without getting shot down or taken in. The guards were merely _aware_ someone was trying to sneak past and their senses were on high alert. Ray and Gavin kept to the shadows and crawled into small spaces they could fit through. By the time they reached the building that would lead to their passageway, the guards appeared to have given up the search.

Walking the path they recognized better than anything else around, they moved without hesitation or fear. Yet they didn’t speak a word to each other, too occupied with their own thoughts to actually say anything out loud. Before being able to climb up and over a wall, they had to get past an area where spores filled the air. They quickly placed their gas masks on and went on, the repulsive foggy, yellow air all around them until they reached that wall.

Ray gave Gavin a lift up first and once on top, Gavin reached a hand out for Ray to jump up and take. Up and over, and then back on the ground, they ran down the small hallway and threw off their masks as soon as the air was cleared. They reached another wall, their destination, with a large crack in the wall that was blocked off by an old TV stand on the other side. Ray moved up and started knocking on the back of it.

Nothing.

“Oh, come on, you guys,” Ray whined, trying again. No response. “Man!”

“You have to be louder,” Gavin insisted. “You really expect them to hear weak little taps beyond a wall?” Without letting Ray to say something in return to that, Gavin lifted his own fist and gave the tall TV stand two good bangs. Ray gave it a try afterward.

After the fifth bang on the TV stand, someone finally came by and moved it out of the way, exposing the two of them to the dim lighting inside. Ray huffed, putting his fist down and folding his arms across his chest.

“Wow, took you guys a while,” he grumbled.

“Hey, better than never,” Joel Heyman responded, stepping aside to allow them in. “You can be more grateful, considering you are using _our_ place to sneak in and out.” Ray walked out and into the living room first, but Gavin followed right behind.

“ _Thank you_ , Joel,” Gavin told him, keeping his eyes solely on him, “but I know we aren’t the only ones-”

“You _fucking_ asshole!” The sudden shout startled him, especially since he knew it was directed toward him, and he barely turned in time to see the girl jumping at him. He held his hands out and gently grabbed her by the arms to hold her back.

“ _Barbara_ ,” He practically squawked and after a moment, she dropped her attempted punches at him and merely glowered. “What the bloody _hell_?!”

“Do you know how long I was waiting for you at your place, how _long_ I just sat around wondering when you were coming back?” She asked, fists now at her side. “I thought something happened to you. I know you’ve gone out longer than you should sometimes, but you’re always _there_ when you say you will be. You’re never late when you know you’re going to meet up with someone, but I’m assuming you forgot,” her voice was progressively lowering the more she talked until she merely sounded offended and disappointed.

Gavin’s eyebrows rose at that, his expression softening, and she rolled her eyes.

“You did,” she stated, stepping back from him. “You fucking forgot!”

“I thought that was tomorrow! Babs, I wouldn’t have left if I thought it was today; I got my days confused. It happens.”

“I just… I thought your stupid luck finally ran out,” she said under her breath.

“Well, we’re more than okay,” Ray assured her. “Made it back without a scratch. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have our own rooms to get back to.” He turned to head out and enter the hallway, glancing back to see if Gavin was going to follow.

Gavin sighed and looked at Barbara, “ _Tomorrow_ , I’ll be there.” Though she was still clearly unhappy, she nodded and gently shoved him out of her way. Gavin met up with Ray and they headed off toward the entrance where more of their sneaking around would continue.

“You don’t have to come with me, but I’m going to check up on Ryan again in a few days,” Ray told him, and before Gavin could think of answer, angry shouts from the guards up front were heard, and they immediately halted in their tracks. And when the shots started going off, Ray and Gavin moved away from the door they were just about to step out from.

“Perfect timing,” Ray sarcastically muttered.

“What the fuck’s going on out there?!” They heard Joel call from down the hallway.

“I think it’s an ambush or some shit! Or another Firefly attack, which wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Don’t think about going out there yet,” Barbara threatened, peeking her head out to point at them. Although, the shakiness to her tone from the worry that Ray and Gavin would try leaving anyway was evident.

“Come on, let’s wait it out a bit. It’ll be over soon. You know how they handle this crap,” Ray told Gavin, turning around to head over to where Joel was standing. “I kind of do want to sit down; it’s been a really long, god damn day.”

“Yeah, yeah, good idea,” Gavin said. There was a particular gunshot that was much too close to the door that made him stop a moment and stare in anticipation of something to happen.

“Gavin, what the fuck are you doing?” Ray was asking, and just after he asked, the door flew open and someone ran in. The person slammed it shut behind them and starting pulling the nearest table to block the door, as if that would do any good. They were wearing a grey hoodie that looked too big on them, basically swallowing them up. The hood was on their head, hiding the view of their face from Gavin, and Gavin wasn’t sure why he was still staring. This was the person they were after, the reason for the sudden chaos outside.

“Who the _hell_ are you and _what_ are you doing?” Barbara demanded, her and Ray raising their pistols, and the person immediately ceased their movements.  

“I’m not here to give you guys any trouble,” they said, and Gavin felt chills run down his back at the familiarity of the voice.

“A little too late for that, man,” Ray joked. The person then turned around to face them, a desperate and exhausted look on their face… but their face in general was what had Gavin’s mouth falling open.

And when their eyes finally locked, Gavin inhaled harshly.

“Michael.”


	2. Infected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this wasn’t posted on time. I had a long, stressful week and didn’t get time to look over this and add in the things I noted to myself. But it’s here now! Haha enjoy!

_Ten years earlier_

The very second Geoff handed him the handgun for the first time, that’s when it completely hit him. That’s when he realized everything that was happening around them was _real_. That’s how he finally understood he wasn’t stuck in an endless nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.

“I know you’re scared – everyone’s scared – but you hold on, okay? Don’t you fucking dare give up yet. We’re going to make it through this together,” was the small speech Geoff gave him every night when everyone else had managed to fall asleep and they were the only two still struggling.

“Okay,” would be his response each time. Plain and simple. And he would roll over onto his side so Geoff couldn’t see his face, and he would pretend to be asleep, because eventually he really would be. Before he would, he would merely stare at Michael’s silhouette. His best friend always slept in a particular spot so he would be at equal distance between him and his parents. And that was the only semi-comforting thing to Gavin during the nights when the wind offered horrid noises from afar.

How did Michael do it, though? He was evidently braver than Gavin. He voluntarily learned how to handle a gun a few days after the official announcement about the outbreak. And every time he was faced with an infected person, he would hardly tremble, unlike Gavin. But Gavin didn’t envy him for it; he was just confused about _how_ it was possible and _why_ it was so difficult for him to be like that, too.

Well, at least he was finally learning how to use a gun…

 

 

* * *

 

_Present_

Subconsciously, Gavin pulled up the left sleeve of his shirt and placed his hand over his watch, his fingers brushing over the cracked glass.

“Gavvy?” Michael breathed out, eyes widening.

Ray’s eyebrows twitched together as he looked back and forth between Michael – the person he was still aiming at – and Gavin. “ _Gavvy_?” He asked after a moment.

“How the hell do you two know each other?” Barbara asked next.

“I think he ran in there!” One of the guards from outside shouted. Michael began moving away from the door, but Barbara and Ray stood their ground and blocked his way out.

“ _God_ _damnit_ , just let me get the fuck out of here and you’ll never have to deal with me again!” Michael snapped and Gavin finally regained himself at the sound of that tone.

“What are you doing here, Michael?”

Michael looked at Gavin over his shoulder, a mixture of shock and frustration now residing on his face. “I just… I thought someone I was looking for was here, but I was dead wrong. Now I just need to get out of here without getting _murdered_ by those assholes out there, so I can get on with my search,” he explained and Gavin’s frown deepened. Michael was looking for someone, someone who wasn’t him. Honestly, Gavin wasn’t surprised. They hadn’t seen each other in nine years, so he couldn’t just think Michael would actually find him to reunite.  

“What’s going on out here?” Gavin heard Adam Ellis ask before he saw the bearded man step out from behind Ray and Barbara. Joel also walked back out, but he was now holding his machete and staring deviously at Michael up ahead.

Kicking and banging began at the door and Michael gasped.

“I can’t hurt you,” he tried to reason, “I have _nothing_ on me; I just want to get out of here.”

“How do you know we can even get you out through here?” Barbara questioned him.

“There’s _gotta_ be an escape. Nobody’s stupid enough not to have an escape plan.”

“Hey, maybe we are,” said Ray with a shrug. Michael groaned and turned to Gavin once again.

There was another hard kick at the door that caused it to crack open slightly and Gavin, ignoring the leap his heart made, pulled his sleeve down before rushing forward and grabbing Michael by the wrist. They pushed past Ray and Barbara, walked around Joel and Adam, and practically ran back into the living room.

“Gavin… _Gavin_!” Ray called after him. “Hey!”

Gavin momentarily released Michael to start pushing the TV stand out of the way, but he was stopped by Ray holding it in place.

“What are you doing?” Ray demanded.

“He wants to get out of here, so I’m letting him know how,” Gavin responded, teeth gritted, but Ray wasn’t fazed.

“And what, let us take the blame? They _know_ he ran in here. What the hell are we going to say? ‘Oh, no, we didn’t see anyone walk in through her!’? You think they’re just going to believe he magically disappeared?”

“I’ll take care of it!”

“To hell you won’t!”

“Gavin,” Michael whispered, sounding awfully frightened and awfully _lost_. But… Michael Jones was never scared…

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows and quickly pushed Ray out of the way before proceeding to moving the TV stand. When the hole was partly exposed, enough to squeeze through, Gavin decided that was better than nothing, and though he hadn’t planned on going with Michael, he ended up reaching back until Michael grabbed his hand and they ran out together.

“ _Gavin_!” Ray cried.

Another hard kick and the door was flung open.

“Close it!” Barbara screamed.

“No, but Gavin!”

“Joel, _now_!”

The last thing Gavin heard from behind him was the sounds of that TV stand screeching against the wooden floor, and… footsteps. Gavin skidded to a stop and turned around to find Ray following him, but Ray wasn’t quick enough to halt and ran right into Gavin.

“Why are you here?” Gavin asked, gasping for air. He could even feel his forehead and back becoming damp with sweat from how fast he’d been running and how stuffy it was underground.

“Why did you _leave_?!” Ray shouted.

Gavin took a step back, giving them both more room to breathe comfortably. He ran his fingers through his messy locks and looked at Ray apologetically. “It just happened,” he answered.

“It just _happened_? Well, a lot of things sure are just _happening_ today, aren’t they?”

“You didn’t have to come after me.”

“You didn’t have to leave. I mean, Gav, who the hell is he, anyway?”

Gavin averted his eyes, sucking in his lower lip as he thought over an answer to give. _He was my best friend_. Was. “I knew him… back then,” he decided on. Ray scoffed.

“You _knew_ him? I knew a lot of people, too, but you don’t see me risking my _life_ for them!”

“Ray-”

“Listen, he’s fine now. We can go back, we _should_ go back, and save everyone from the trouble they’re getting in because of this person you _knew_. I’m not going let anything happen to Joel, Barb, and Adam,” Ray paused a moment before arching his head to get a look at Michael who was standing a great distance from them now. “Hey!” He called out to him.

Michael turned around, furrowing his eyebrows.

“You see that room to your right?” Ray asked him. Michael checked and nodded. “There’s a backpack in there you can use. It’s got a few things you can use so you won’t completely _die_ out there.” There was such bitterness to his tone that even Gavin was taken aback. Ray met Gavin’s eye again and sighed. “There, he’s taken care of. Let’s go. We owe those three a lot.”

And Gavin couldn’t argue with that. To make things easier, he didn’t even look back at Michael as he ran toward the entrance of the living room with Ray next to him. The TV stand was covering up the hole once more and they knew it was best to try and forcing it out of the way instead of banging on it, and actually expecting someone to move it from on the other side. Together, they ran into it, right shoulders out, hoping their strength combined would eventually cause it to fall forward. It certainly did budge, but it wasn’t enough. They attempted kicking next, which gave a bit more results, so they continued with that.

Although, it wasn’t until Michael was between them and helping them out that they successfully knocked over the damn thing. Ray scowled over at Michael a second before jumping over the stand and landing onto the floor of the living room. And it was empty.

Not a person was in sight. Not a voice was heard, or any sound for that matter.

“No,” Ray breathed, beginning to frantically look into every nearby room, but there really was… no one. “They took them. They actually fucking _took_ them!” Gavin gently stepped over the stand and hurried over to Ray, but Ray moved away from him. “We have to go find them, we have to…” he trailed off, though, and merely sputtered as he looked around again. That’s how he spotted it. Thrown off to the side near the boarded up window – Joel’s machete. He walked over and picked it up without any hesitation.

“Um… hey,” Michael spoke from behind the knocked over TV stand, his tone incredibly softer than Gavin was used to hearing.

“ _Don’t_ say anything,” Ray threatened, pointing at him with the cleaver. Michael narrowed his eyes at him.

“Hey, asshole, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m sorry, okay?” _There_ was the frustrated tone Gavin knew well. Ray said nothing in response. Gavin made his way back to Michael and leaned over the stand between them, gaining Michael’s complete attention.

“I think you need to leave now,” Gavin whispered to him.

“I will, but I need to ask you something.”

Gavin stiffened at those words, a sickening feeling filling his stomach. Though he nodded. Michael took a deep breath.

“The Fireflies… do you know where they could be?” Despite not intending for Ray to hear, Ray did anyway.

“Are you _fucking_ serious? You’re looking for the damn _Fireflies_?” He asked. Michael huffed and Gavin turned his head to look at Ray. Ray stared back – hard. “Great, Gavin. First he comes in here and ruins _everything_. Now I hear that he’s looking for the exact people that almost ruined our day in the first place!”

“Why are you looking for them?” Gavin questioned Michael.

“It’s, uh… a long story. I… I don’t think I’m supposed to tell anyone. I just want to know where they are, so I can be on my way,” Michael answered.

“What the hell are you hiding?” Ray practically growled.

Ignoring him, Gavin sighed. “I don’t know where they’re usually located. I just run into one sometimes, but lucky for you, I do know a couple that could answer that.” Michael’s face brightened and Gavin roughly swallowed as he felt a small ache form in his chest.

“Where can I find them?” Michael asked.

“Their place is far from here, but I’m sure we can get there-”

“Hold on, ‘ _we’_?” Ray was interrupting, but this time, he was stepping closer to them. “Gavin, you’re going with him?”

“I know the way to get there and he doesn’t.”

“Then give him a map!”

“No, Ray, you know exactly who I’m referring to. In fact…” Gavin shifted his gaze to Michael, “he does, too. He just doesn’t know where they ended up.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “Geoff and Griffon?”

“Oh, great. He knows them, too,” Ray grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yeah,” Gavin nodded, answering Michael. “They… they used to be Fireflies, for a long while when we first arrived here in Boston. And when they decided to quit and leave, I stayed here. Going with you gives me an opportunity to see them again.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“It’s almost been three years.”

“Holy shit.”

Gavin stood up straight, facing Ray, “I know you want to go help them, but what do you expect to do, Ray? Do you want to march out there and _demand_ they set them free?”

“Well it’s better than leaving them to die!”

“I’m not leaving them to die, Ray! I think they have a better chance if we stay out of it! Going out there will cost yours and their lives! You _know_ that. It’s why _she_ is no longer here. It’s best if we let this pass. They’ll be let go in a few days once they realize they aren’t hiding anything,” Gavin adjusted the straps on his backpack and added, “By the time I return, they’ll be here, and you’ll be here with them – safe and sound.”

“No,” Ray shook his head, “I’m going with you. What am I going to do here without you, anyway?” Gavin’s expression was beginning to soften, but then Ray went on, “But if we come back and they’re still not here, I’m going after him,” he pointed to Michael again. Michael resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Also, we’re making a stop somewhere first.” He tossed the machete aside, because if Joel did end up coming back, he would need that.

“Okay,” Gavin said.

And together, they left.

By the time they reached the area where the spores were, Gavin and Ray placed their masks back on while Michael lingered behind and questioningly stared down at the one he’d found in the backpack.

“Come on, idiot; we have a long way to go,” Ray hissed at him. Michael scowled at him, though he did put on the mask and pick up his pace behind them.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Ray said under his breath, his voice muffled.

“You could have stayed,” Gavin reminded him.

“Don’t talk to me right now.”

The two walked without needing to know where they were turning, which corner to go in, and where to duck under to end up in a new area. Meanwhile, Michael kept on halting to look over something – a long forgotten body propped up against the wall, the skin rotted away and a cracked hole in the skull from where they took their own lives, or a folded up note would catch his attention and he would scan it before realizing how far Ray and Gavin had gone.

Everything was just so _different_ from where he’d been held up for years. He’d only been in Boston for a few weeks and judging by the things he’d seen already, he was… kind of amazed. He was in awe at how things worked there, how there were actual people outside of the zone living their lives in their version of freedom, without any rules to follow or anyone to worry about. He had always been kept under strict watch before he finally left for Boston, and sure there were complete similarities (especially with the guards keeping everyone locked inside), but the way the environment felt was something he wasn’t used to. Perhaps it was simply because he didn’t know Boston and before he arrived, he thought he wouldn’t know anyone there.

But here he was, being escorted to the outside by the one and only Gavin Free.

“Do you think about going back to Austin, just to see how everything ended up?” Michael asked, just for the sake of saying something as soon as they were able to take their masks off. The silence was dreadful.

“Why would I waste my time, Michael?” Gavin asked in return. “Austin is no longer home to me.” Ray side-eyed Gavin, but he decided not to comment.

They reached a large opening in the broken down building they were standing in, and that’s when Ray turned to Michael.

“Once we’re outside, we’re going to be at risk, because there’s guards in every corner up until dawn,” he explained. “We have a slight advantage of it being pretty dark, so it’ll be easier to sneak around, but for now, we’re going through the sewers,” then he sighed and glanced over at Gavin, “I can’t tell you how tired I am of going through this route today. I smell worse than usual because of that sewer.”

“This will be the last time for a while,” Gavin reminded him. His nose then scrunched up. “I don’t think you should be blaming the sewers.” Michael smirked to himself at that.

“Let’s get on with that,” Ray muttered, leading the way. Gavin and Michael practically remained at the same speed.

“So, where are we stopping first?” Michael asked.

“Shut up and remember to stay low after we get out of the sewers unless you wanna get caught.”

Michael held back the urge to roll his eyes. “I was just asking.”

“And I said ‘shut up’.”

Though he didn’t want to, Michael obliged.

It was in the sewers that Michael discovered there was a small flashlight attached to his backpack, and he was pleasantly surprised to see how well it worked, along with Ray’s and Gavin’s. Making their way through that awfully disgusting tunnel was the easiest part, because just as Ray had said, there were guards everywhere on the other side. The three of them turned their lights off and ducked immediately after jumping out of the exit.

A few men were scattered about on the higher levels of the ground. They were using their flashlights to scan the area below. So when Ray pointed to the small opening they were going to crawl through, Michael wondered how that was going to be possible when the way to get there was _everywhere_ the men were looking at. Ray managed to surprise him, though, by pressing himself up against the dirt wall and taking quiet steps toward their destination. Since he was up against the wall, the man above paid him no attention, because he was more interested in checking everywhere else except for _right_ underneath him.

And Ray was also right about the darkness of the night being on their side.

They each quickly crawled through and entered a new area where even more guards were patrolling. And again, it looked impossible to get past, but Michael took one look at Ray and knew he was going to be proven wrong once more. Because someone who wasn’t sure wouldn’t be wearing such a poised expression.  

“Come on,” Ray whispered, rushing over to momentarily hide behind a truck, and Michael felt no hesitation in following his every move.

 

* * *

 

For the second time that day, Gavin was startled by the sight of Ryan standing in the doorway, especially now that the man was wielding an axe, and glaring at them. Well, that is, until he recognized who they were. Slowly, he lowered the weapon and cocked his head to the side.

“What are you doing back here?” He asked.

“We, uh, got an _unpleasant_ and _unexpected_ surprise,” Ray answered before stepping aside and gesturing toward Michael standing on the sidewalk. Michael had his back turned to Ryan, but when he heard what he could only assume was his cue, he spun around.

Although, upon seeing Ryan, Michael’s mouth fell open, as did Ryan’s.

“Ryan?” Michael asked, amazed and entirely surprised.

Ray threw his hands up in exasperation and Gavin looked at him. “He fucking knows Ryan, _too_. Oh, man, Gavin. This guy… he just _keeps getting better_!”

“Relax, asshole. The world’s not exactly as big of a place as it used to be. People are bound to know each other,” Michael told him.

“Oh, I know. I just can’t believe _you_ of all people know four people I know. I find that pretty annoying. But hey, go on, tell me how you two know each other. I’m up for a story,” Ray crossed his arms, staring daggers at Michael, though it was Ryan who answered.

“Two years back, before I settled down here, I ran into him a few times. We paid each other favors whenever we could.”

“What kind of favors are we talking here?” Gavin narrowed his eyes at Ray for asking that. Michael just rolled his eyes, but then the corners of his lips rose as he locked eyes with Ryan.

“I never expected to see you again,” he said and Gavin took note of the fondness in his tone.

“Yeah, well, good to see you’re still alive,” Ryan responded, and Ray shook his head as he noticed the way they were looking at each other.

“You know, we can waste time playing catch up, but I think we should get to why we’re here again in the same day,” Ray spoke up. “Yeah, it has to do with… Michael. We’re going to take him to see the Ramsey’s, friends of Gavin’s, and I was wondering if you knew of a car that you could let us use. I’m not really looking forward to travelling all the way there on foot.”

“A car?”

“I’ll pay you back when we return.”

“It’s not that. I just… I’m not sure if I can provide one that’ll actually run long enough. Where exactly are these people and why are you going to see them?”

“Last I knew of – Jackson, Wyoming,” Gavin answered. “Geoff and Griffon Ramsey are the closest thing to parents that I’ve ever known… and they also used to be Fireflies, which…” he trailed off a bit as he saw Ryan visibly flinch, but he continued after a moment, “Michael’s looking for the Fireflies.”

“ _What_?” Ryan turned his full attention on Michael. “What would you want with _them_?”

“He can’t tell us or some shit,” Ray told him. “He’s hiding something and I’m expected to trust him for three-thousand miles! But hey, Ryan, can we finish this conversation inside? It’s completely dark out here and I’m exhausted.” Ryan nodded and moved aside to allow them in. Ray and Gavin entered easily, but Michael was stopped by Ryan stepping in front of him.

“I remember you telling me we were on the same side,” Ryan grimly whispered, using their height difference to his advantage by staring down at Michael. “What happened?” Michael swallowed hard.

“Everything,” he replied coolly.

“Hmm. Care to elaborate on that?”

Michael grinned crookedly, exposing the dimple on his left cheek. “Maybe one day,” he sounded like he wanted to laugh at how amused with himself he was.

“Don’t try to get cute with me, Jones. You know the one thing I hate more than the Fireflies is secrets.”

“I just told you, _Haywood_ , that one day, you’ll know.”

“So, why wait? Why not just tell me now and get it over with?”

Michael’s eyes flickered to the space he could see over Ryan’s shoulder and spotted Gavin standing up against the wall with Ray. Gavin was distracted with something Ray was showing him to notice Michael, and Michael eventually looked away and back into Ryan’s eyes.

“I never expected to tell anyone, but now that I’m in this situation, I think someone else deserves to know before you.”

“Gavin,” Ryan mouthed, smiling. Michael merely sighed. “How do you two know each other?”

“We used to be really close,” Michael told him.

“Back then? Well, times change.”

“That doesn’t mean I forgot.” For a while, Michael was unsure how Ryan was going to react to that response, but then Ryan’s smile was widening.

“Fair enough,” the man softly said, finally stepping away so Michael could walk into the house.

“I do know of a car that still has some juice in it,” Ryan said out loud, speaking directly to Ray and Gavin. He shut the door behind him and gestured toward the living room where they all ushered into together. “Right when the sun rises, we’ll go out so you guys can get a look at it, and we’ll see from there. I think, for now, it’s best if each of you get some rest.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Ray cooed, allowing himself to fall onto the couch. Gavin just faintly smiled at him.

“There are extra beds in this house you can sleep in, Ray,” Ryan reminded him. Ray waved him off, though, his eyes already drooping shut. “Well, then, Gavin and Michael, if you two want to sleep, feel free to look around the rooms, but _don’t_ take anything without telling me.” With that, he hurried out of there and up the stairs while Michael and Gavin lingered in the living room, looking anywhere but at each other.

Finally, however, Gavin began walking away to take a look into the first bedroom down the hallway. He didn’t even realize he was being followed until he heard Michael speak inside the room with him.

“So, why didn’t you become a Firefly with Geoff and Griffon?”

“Geoff and Griffon as Fireflies… it wasn’t as serious as you think. They never outright admitted it to me, but I know they were only really into it to find out everything about them. So, they told me to stay out of it, and I did. I was better off,” he replied, keeping his voice down for Ray’s sake.

“Did you… ever want to, though?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Did _you_? I know you seem to now…”

“Honestly? I don’t know what I want. All I know is that they’re the only people that can actually help me.”

“With _what_?” Gavin flashed him a quick glare as he asked, but he did turn away again to inspect the bed he was going to sleep in. Silence followed, just as he expected, and he was about ready to prepare himself to demand the answer out of Michael. The day wasn’t even completely over yet and he was already damn tired of this little secret.

“Don’t tell Ray and Ryan… not yet,” he heard Michael say. Gavin’s eyebrows twitched together.

“Don’t tell them wha-” Gavin was cut off as he looked over at him and immediately caught sight of the infected bite on Michael’s forearm. “ _Bloody_ _hell_ ,” he breathed, subconsciously reaching back, and his fingers brushed against the zipper of his backpack. He would have quickly snatched his backpack off to reach in for his gun, but there was just something _odd_ about that particular bite. Something he’d never seen before. Every bite from an infected would rapidly become worse until the person was no longer themselves.

But Michael’s bite? It was clear it was a bite from an infected, except… it almost looked like it was… _healed_.

“H-how… how?” Gavin sputtered.

“Your guess is as a good as mine,” Michael told him. “This is _two months_ old, Gavin. I was bit two months ago… and I’m still here. I’m still alive. I’m still _me_.”

“I don’t- I don’t understand.”

“Me neither. _That’s_ why I’m looking for them. There’s something different about me and I think they’re the only ones that can explain it.”

“You’re not… _different_ , Michael. You’re… you’re...” Gavin averted his eyes, not wanting to stare at that infected bite any longer.

“Immune?” Michael offered, but then he scoffed. “ _Yeah_ , I guess I am. But _why_? Why me?”

Gavin took a deep breath to steady himself before he was able to look at Michael again. “At least now I know the real reason why I’m going across the country with you and Ray. But why do you not want them to know yet?”

“You handled the news a _little_ better than I thought you would, but I don’t know Ray. I _do_ know Ryan, though, and he’s… he’s kind of paranoid sometimes with this kind of shit.”

“If they see how you haven’t turned yet, they’ll have to believe you.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but just… let me choose the right moment, okay?”

“Oh, okay,” Gavin nodded. Michael offered him a small smile as he rolled his sleeves back down.

“Well, goodnight, Gavin. I’ll see you in the morning,” he turned to leave, yet he halted once he was near the doorway. “And… thank you, for everything. I’d probably be dead right now if it weren’t for you.” And he left without waiting for Gavin to answer. Gavin didn’t know if he would have answered anyway.

 

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Ray’s gentle voice slowly brought Gavin out of his sleep.

Gavin lifted his head off the pillow slowly, blinking hard to rid of the drowsiness, and then he recalled where he was and why. And he mentally groaned once it came back to him. He had a dreamless night, much like most of his sleeps in the past ten years, but it felt so short-lived, as if he wasn’t supposed to wake up yet. Or perhaps he was just _that_ exhausted from the day before that a few more hours of sleep sounded _heavenly_ in this hell.

Either way, he put his head back down and closed his eyes. A few more _minutes_ wouldn’t hurt.

“Ryan says it’s time to go,” Ray told him, nodding toward the door. Gavin brought his hands up and rubbed his face, but he did nod. Ray left him at that, allowing him to work up the energy to get out of bed.

“Looks like possible rain today,” Ryan noted as he peeked through the curtains in the living room. “Summer is coming an end soon.”

Michael was sitting on the couch, waiting as patiently as he could for everyone to get ready so they could just go already. “Yeah,” he mumbled. He looked up when he Ray re-entered, but Ray paid him no attention as he walked right over to stand next to Ryan.

“Hey, um, I know you said you didn’t care, but… I will pay you back for doing this for us,” Ray began, keeping his voice low so Michael couldn’t hear. “You don’t even have to do this, but the fact that you are...” Ryan turned his head to face him.

“Who knows if anything will even work, so don’t worry about that yet.”

“Knowing you, you’ll figure something out.”

“You put too much faith in me. That’s going to backfire on you one day.”

“And _you_ don’t put _enough_ faith into _yourself_.”

Ryan’s expression softened at that, but he quickly recovered himself with a smirk. “Then I guess it’s good that I have you to have enough faith in me for the both of us.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ray returned his smile.

“Okay, I’m ready whenever you all are,” Gavin announced as he finally walked in. Michael jumped up from the couch at the sight of him, and it was then that Gavin remembered what Michael had told him. Michael must have remembered as well, because he was quickly giving Gavin a pleading look, and Gavin nodded as if to say, “I know.”

Ray backed away from Ryan to retrieve his equipment off the floor by the coffee table. Ryan soon did the same and after making sure they each had what they needed, they headed out with Ryan taking the lead. Ray followed closely behind with Gavin while Michael kept his distance and his head down.

“What’s with your _friend_ back there?” Ray had to ask Gavin when he noticed the distance. “Figured he’d be happy we’re doing this for him.” Gavin glanced at Michael over his shoulder and sighed.

“Maybe he’s feeling bad,” he answered nonchalantly.

Ray scoffed. “ _Now_ he feels bad?”

“I’m sure he’s felt bad about this entire thing since he saw what happened in the zone.”

“You’re so quick to defend him.”

“He’s not as bad as you want to think he is, Ray,” Ryan couldn’t help but add. “I’m weary of him now, too, though, because well… _Fireflies_ and whatever secret he’s hiding, but overall, he’s an okay person. I’m sure you two will be getting along soon.”

“I’m sure,” Ray repeated, putting emphasis on the word ‘sure’ as he squinted his eyes.

Gavin debated it for a bit in his mind, whether to slow down so that Michael could catch up with or merely keep walking by Ray. Eventually, he decided on the former, and Michael lifted his head to meet his eye. Gavin made sure both Ray’s and Ryan’s backs were to them and that they weren’t listening in before he spoke.

“I understand why you want to keep it a secret for now, but Ray and I have been good mates for eight years, and I don’t want to hide anything from him.”

“Don’t worry about it; I’ve decided I’m telling them before we leave town, that way Ryan can know, too. I’m just _trying_ to think of the best way to say it,” Michael told him.

“I want to say ‘just say it’, but we both know it isn’t that simple. Most people would either think you’re mental or try to kill you if you told them about your condition.”

“That second part is what I’m kind of worried about with Ryan. He and I have some history, but that doesn’t fucking mean he’s going to throw away everything he’s known for me.”

“If I see him raise his gun, I’ll stand in front of you.”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

Gavin rolled his eyes and looked forward. “It’s not being an idiot, Michael,” he mumbled, “Ryan wouldn’t instantly shoot me, because I’m not the one who’s infected… or not infected – no – unexplainably _immune_.”

“Watch your step up here,” Ryan called back to them as he gestured toward a few of his infamous traps scattered around in the area. Some had visibly been set off and bits and pieces of who or _what_ was the unfortunate victim were splattered on walls and the concrete of the sidewalks. “Note to self: set some new traps up.”

“You are something, Ryan,” Ray commented as he examined a few of the blown up bodies.

The four of them headed down the street, carefully ducking under the wires attached to Ryan’s nail bombs, and not straying too far from one another. They kept their eye out for anything that looked suspicious, but then again, practically everything did since they weren’t as familiar with the area as Ryan was. And sometimes, the most dangerous sights they saw were created by Ryan himself, in which he would tell them, “No, that’s just mine.” After a while, Ray, Gavin, and Michael stopped asking altogether unless they saw concern cross Ryan’s features. They walked through a church to get to the other side (where Ray jokingly said to Gavin, ‘Perfect time for you to confess all of those sins’) and through a cemetery Ryan actually didn’t recognize. The cemetery is where they had another pause as they heard the disturbing, loud clicking and grunts beyond tall graves.

“We can sneak past them,” Gavin suggested.

“Or we can kill them… _quietly_ ,” Ray added.

“Let’s go with the first idea. It’s better if we save our energy,” Ryan whispered.

Being the one with one of the silent weapons, Gavin made his way up the steps first with bow clutched in his left hand with an arrow clutched in his right. He remained low, knowing that simply because a Clicker couldn’t see with all of the fungus taking over its face didn’t mean it couldn’t hear very well. Gavin carefully maneuvered his way around the grave, turning his head to watch the Clicker behind him turn away while the one in front of him stood still in its spot. Gavin waved Ray over, and then he stared hard at the Clicker behind while Ray safely made his way to his side.

Ryan looked to Michael and nodded toward the two others, “You go next.”

“Are you sure?” asked Michael.

“Go. Now.”

Michael inhaled sharply, though just as he was about to move forward, the first Clicker started making its way back. Gavin thought about telling Michael to go for it anyway, but being immune didn’t mean Michael was completely invisible; a Clicker would still manage to murder him with one bite to the neck. Tentatively, Gavin latched his arrow to his bow and lifted it to aim at the infected’s head.

“Really?” Ray asked. “Can’t he just wait for it to leave again?” Gavin considered it, but it was as if the Clicker had heard and understood Ray, so it halted in its track and just… stood there, right where Michael was a mere few feet away from it. “Never mind,” Ray sighed. “Kill the son of a bitch.”

Gavin happily obliged, pulling the string of the bow back, aiming, and then releasing. The arrow made a _whoosh!_ through the air before plunging itself where the side of the Clicker’s forehead once was. Michael’s eyes followed the Clicker as it fell forward in front of him. He quickly pulled the arrow out of its head and looked up.

“That takes care of that,” Gavin said under his breath before waving Michael over. Ryan followed suit.

The four of them turned to face their next enemy, the second Clicker. Gavin took the arrow back from Michael and began sneaking his way past it, keeping his eyes on the ground so he wouldn’t accidentally step on something that would draw its attention. He bit down on his lower lip when he was able to see it, simply twitching in its place, from his peripheral vision. It had no idea they were around. Although, that thought alone wasn’t enough to calm Gavin’s nerves.

 _You’re almost there… don’t look at it_ , he told himself repeatedly. Almost there… almost there… and then he heard it – the sound of someone tripping and landing on the ground with a choked groan. He tensed and held his breath, and there it was – the Clicker’s screech. But he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even turn his head to see who it was going after. He couldn’t do anything until he felt someone grabbing at him and thought it was the Clicker.

“Get off me!” He shouted, blindly slapping away the unwanted hands from behind. Whoever it was, they immediately gave up on that method and just enveloped Gavin with their arms entirely to pull him up onto his feet. And when he finally looked over, he saw Ray pinned to the ground with the Clicker on top of him. But he also saw Ryan standing over them, arms high in the air and an axe held so tightly in his hands that Gavin could have sworn he saw Ryan’s knuckles turn white. And then Ryan brought that axe down onto the Clicker’s head, instantly killing it, though some of its fungal flesh splattered over Ray’s face and neck, and the grass surrounding him.

Ryan yanked his axe free and kicked the dead Clicker aside, off of Ray, while Ray remained there, mouth and eyes squeezed shut. Ryan breathed out a laugh until he remembered, they had more accompany up ahead. He turned around in time to see a few Runners coming into sight, hunger and fiery burning in their eyes. Michael was still holding onto Gavin, but Gavin pushed him off and fumbled to latched the arrow to his bow, almost dropping it one too many times. He would never consider himself a master at facing multiple of infected at a time. However, he did his best, and hardly failed at taking them down, especially if more people were with him.

Right now, though, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Michael was right next to him. He couldn’t erase the image of Ray being straddled by the Clicker; something he hated to remember that he’d seen happen many times before because of his own damn mistakes. And he couldn’t concentrate on the fact that there was a particular Runner coming for him and Michael while the other went for Ray and Ryan.

As it was all becoming too much for him to handle and he was about to just drop his bow and fight with his fists, he heard a gunshot, causing his left ear to ring. Gavin covered his ear, whining quietly before he noticed the pistol Michael was holding and the body of the Runner lying on the ground, bullet hole in its forehead. Slowly, he put his hand down and stared at Michael, mouth agape.

“I forgot how good you are with that.”

Michael wanted to say something, except he was cut off by screeches of more Clickers appearing from the direction they needed to go.

“I think we can find another way out of here,” Ryan called to them, pulling his axe out once again from another infected’s head. They could hear the herd approaching closer, their screeches and clicking getting intensely deafening. “Back this way!” Ryan ran off the other way they came from, and the rest of them didn’t dare look back as they followed.

Their second route was evidently longer, but the streets and corners were much emptier than that cemetery. Therefore, they didn’t mind the distance to the car garage Ryan was leading them to. He said no one was brave enough to go too far out into the city like they were, so he was sure the car he’d seen in the garage was still there. Whether it worked or not, was the mystery to him. Last he checked, a few months back, everything about it seemed intact, but he was too short on time to try turning it on. He always thought about going back for it, though he never found the opportunity to do so. Now here he was.

“One of you, help me with this,” he walked over to the garage door and began to lift it, and Michael joined him seconds later. Together, they were able to lift up high enough for Ray and Gavin to crawl underneath.

On the other side, Gavin and Ray proceeded to holding it up while Michael and Ryan got inside just like they had. With everyone in, Gavin and Ray gently let it down.

“So?” Michael asked Ryan after Ryan had popped open the hood of the car and started inspecting it.

“It doesn’t look great, I’ll tell you that, but… someone turn it on. Let’s see if it can run. I remember leaving the keys in the glove department.”

Ray, finishing with wiping his face with his shirt’s sleeves, opened the driver’s side door and hopped inside. He retrieved the keys from where Ryan said they’d be and put them in the ignition. When he turned them and the car roared to life, he sighed in relief.

“We’re good to go, then?” Gavin questioned.

Ryan shut the hood and patted it. “Might need a good push start to really get it going, but I’d say yeah.”

“God damn. Thanks, Ryan,” Michael told him.

“Um, who’s gonna drive?” Ray then asked, turning the vehicle off. “I never got to learn.” Ryan looked to Gavin and Gavin shook his head.

“You’re telling me Michael’s the only one who knows, out of the three of you?” Ray only shrugged in response. Ryan rubbed his face with his hands and exhaled deeply. He put his hands down and seemed to stare at a certain spot on the wall, behind the three men. He wore such a thoughtful expression that made his eyebrows slightly knit together and Gavin wanted to just ask him what he was thinking, because it was unnerving.

But then, that expression softened, and Ryan spoke again, “What if I go with you guys? Michael and I can take turns driving, and you,” he pointed directly at Gavin, “will give the directions.”

“Well, I… I’ve never actually been to…” Gavin trailed off as he saw the glare Ryan sent him. Instead, he just nodded.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ray sputtered, getting out of the car, and slamming the door shut. “You actually want to come with us?” He asked Ryan.

“I’ve been thinking about it since we left the house, and yeah, I think I’ve made my decision,” Ryan answered. Gavin couldn’t help but notice the way Ray’s eyes brightened for a quick second. Ryan shifted his gaze to Michael and smiled deviously, “I have some business to take care of, anyway.” Michael raised an eyebrow questioningly at him. “Michael, get in the car and get ready to start it when I say, okay?” It was basically a demand.

“O-okay,” Michael replied as he hesitantly walked up to the driver’s side.

“One of you can be inside with him. I think I only need one person to help me push.”

“I’ll help you,” Ray told him before turning to Gavin, “You go ahead and sit next to your… _whatever_ he is to you.”

Gavin ran over to the passenger side and got inside, closing the door as soon as he was seated. Michael shifted in his own seat and gripped the steering wheel. Neither of them tried making eye contact.

“I guess you have a little more time,” Gavin commented. Michael glanced at his own, covered left arm, and pursed his lips.

“I guess so,” he agreed. Gavin frowned at the lack of emotion behind those words that he had the urge to look at him and say something else. So he did.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you being here and about us doing this, but I do know that it is kind of nice to see an old familiar face.”

“I missed you, Gav,” Michael told him, his voice gentle, and Gavin wished his heart didn’t swell the way it did at those words.

After opening up the garage door the entire way up, Ray and Ryan made their way to the back and started to push. Michael sat upright and prepared himself for his cue, and Gavin knew their conversation – if they could even call it that – was over.

The car was started and seeing that it was running decently, Ryan and Ray got into the backseats, and Michael drove off down the empty street. Each of them remained silent during the ride, only occasionally letting Michael know which turn to take to get onto the freeway. But once Michael was driving on the lonely freeway, utter silence fell upon them.

They drove for a good few hours, avoiding any area that appeared to be overrun with abandoned vehicles, and looking for a place to stop since the sun was going to set soon. Gavin occupied his time by staring out the window, admiring some of the views they past, and wondered how those views must have looked before. But even now, some looked more beautiful than they could have back then; nature was reclaiming what once belonged to it.

“Man, I’m starving,” Ray announced, breaking the quiet atmosphere Gavin believed he was going to eventually suffocate in.

“Yeah, me too,” Ryan said. “Hey, Michael, there’s an exit coming up. Get out on it. We’ll stop there for the night and see if we can find any food.” Michael nodded.

“How long, exactly, is this ride to the Ramsey’s going to take?” Ray asked, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look at Gavin’s face. Gavin glanced at him and shrugged. He was just as unsure.

“I would say about three days if we stay with a car, but let’s not count ourselves too lucky,” Ryan responded.

“Yeah, wouldn’t wanna jinx ourselves.”

It was August 18, 2024 when they headed out that day. It will be April 20, 2025 when their entire journey is over.  

 

 

* * *

 

_August 27, 2024_

“Why are you staring at that?” Gavin heard Ryan ask, but he didn’t look at the man, because he could also hear his footsteps approaching and could see him standing next to him a few moments later. Gavin was currently standing near a brick building, looking up at an old movie poster on the billboard next to it. The colors from the poster were faded, but he could still make out the title and the characters pictured in it.

“Can you believe the crap we used to watch?” He asked Ryan, side eyeing him.

Ryan snorted. “Maybe that’s the kind of crap _you_ used to watch. I was in college when this junk came out. I was too busy and… poor… to waste my money on going to see a movie. I also had midterms on my mind.”

“I’m sure that’s not the only thing you had in mind.”

“You know, Gavin, as much as it might shock you, I wasn’t the typical college student. I went to a party once and hated it. All they wanted to do was hook up and get drunk. Two things I can’t care less about.”

“Michael and I watched this movie.”

Ryan’s eyes widened. “ _Really_? _Michael_ saw this?” He pointed to the billboard.

“Just as you may imagine, he _hated_ it. I gave them props for their use of slow motion.”

“At least they did something right.”

“Guys!” Ray shouted. Ryan and Gavin spun around, though they quickly relaxed when they didn’t see anything wrong with him or Michael. But then Ryan remembered exactly where they had gone and noticed how they were empty-handed.

“Nothing?”

Ray shook his head. “We went separate ways, too, and we didn’t find a _thing_.”

 “Well, I hope you boys don’t mind walking, then.”

Ray didn’t even try to hold back his whine. Michael smiled crookedly at him as he patted his back.  

“There, there. It won’t be so bad, Ray.”

“You say that, because you’ve had practiced with walking through cities for days! The farthest I’ve walked was from the zone to Ryan’s place! Even _that_ seemed like too much.”

“Well, hey, I survived.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ray grumbled. Michael put his hand down and looked back over at Ryan and Gavin. It was just two days after they had left Boston that Ray confronted Gavin about Michael, demanding to know everything about him.

“What do you want to know?” Gavin had asked.

 “Like what the hell do you and he have between the two of you? I get that you used to _know_ him, but why won’t you tell me the whole story? I feel like there’s something about him you don’t want me to know. It’s only making more suspicious of him.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“ _Why_ not?!”

Gavin couldn’t see any point in telling Ray anything, but if it meant Ray could finally shut up and move on, and that maybe he wouldn’t give Michael any of those squinty-eyed glares anymore, then fine. “He and I were… well, we were best friends,” he began. Ray visibly relaxed, along with his expression softening. “You already know how I ended up with Geoff and Griffon, so I can skip to the part where I settled into their home in Austin when I was fourteen. I was in ninth grade and since I was starting in the middle of the year, it wasn’t fun. I met Michael on the last day of my first week when I missed the bus home.

“Michael was sitting on the steps and he laughed at how frustrated I sounded. I was going to tell him to bugger off, but then he asked me what was wrong. I told him and he said, ‘My mum’s going to be here soon to pick me up. She can give you a ride home. She won’t mind’, but I didn’t want to. I told him I would just call my own mum – Griffon – but he insisted. When his mum finally did show up, he got up and walked over to the truck, then looked at me again and said, ‘One last chance’.

“I hadn’t spoken to any other student in that school until him, so I figured I shouldn’t ruin what might be my only opportunity to make a friend. I went with them. We talked the entire ride to my home, about anything that came to our minds. When we actually got there, we found that we still a lot of more things to say. We promised to hang out on Monday, and we did. Throughout those four years in high school, we were great.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that? At least I get it now,” Ray told him.

“I didn’t think it mattered anymore.”

“Maybe, but I can get why it would, and why you want to help him now.”

They walked back into the small building they’d been staying at, and after that, Ray gave Michael a real chance. It was five days later and it wasn’t hard to see that he and Michael were getting along well.

“Come on, let’s get going. Let’s see how far we can get before sundown,” Ryan said as he headed off down the street. Gavin, Ray, and Michael sighed, mentally and physically trying to prepare themselves. Then they followed.

They didn’t get too far that day, but they decided it was okay, since it was going to be the start of many long walks. They entered a suburb, carefully searching through the forgotten homes, and settling into the last one. Ray and Gavin counted how much of everything they had and what they could possibly need to be on the look for next time. They were so indulged in doing so that they didn’t notice when Ryan and Michael exited the room.

Gavin merely stood up to go retrieve a magazine he had seen earlier in a bedroom to show Ray, but on his way there, he heard voices coming from another room. The door wasn’t shut and curiosity got the best of Gavin, because he found himself peeking in through the opening. He got a glimpse of Ryan and Michael inside. Michael was grinning, his dimple fully exposed, and though Ryan’s back was to Gavin, Gavin could imagine Ryan smiling as well.

“That never worked on me, Michael,” Ryan said to him, crossing his arms.

“What are you talking about?” Michael laughed lightly.

“You know what you’re doing.”

Michael’s smile faltered slightly as he raised his eyebrows. “Ryan, I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, so maybe you just don’t realize it.” But then Michael’s grin was completely back and Ryan was the one laughing next. “You _do_ know.”

And Gavin couldn’t explain it if he tried – the sense of betrayal he felt, like an old wound opening up. His eyebrows twitched together when he saw Ryan lean in to whisper something to Michael, but he turned away and left before he could see the discomfort on Michael’s face.

“I told you… one day you would know,” Michael responded to Ryan, his teeth clenching.

“Oh, I’m getting tired of waiting. We’re all doing this for _you_. We have the right to know already. It’s been a week.” Michael simply walked out of the room without giving Ryan the answer he wanted.

Gavin, however, had stormed out of the house completely, with Ray running after him and asking what the hell happened. Gavin realized Ray was about to get a second confession out of him. He turned around to face Ray and took a deep breath to calm himself down first.

“Michael wasn’t just my best friend. I… I was in love with him,” he admitted. Ray blinked a few times.

“I can’t say I’m surprised – the way you look at him. I mean, are you sure it’s a ‘was’?”

Gavin scoffed and threw his hands up. “You know what a bigger mystery than my relationship with him is?” Ray shrugged, signaling for him to go on. “His relationship with Ryan.” Gavin almost regretted saying anything as he watched Ray’s face fall from concern to utter despair.

Instead of acting upon that despair, though, Ray shook his head and scowled at him. “Are you _fucking_ serious, Gavin? I don’t have time to worry about shit like that! Get the fuck over it! We have other problems to deal with!” And he didn’t wait for Gavin to say something in return. He just hurried back into the house, leaving Gavin stand out in the night alone.

But Ray was right. Ray was completely right.

Why was Gavin suddenly so upset over something so pathetic? Something that didn’t even matter anymore. What mattered was the fact that Runners and Clickers could come barging at them at any moment. Or that Stalkers could be lurking around. Hell, they could even be dealing with a Bloater, because _that_ was the reality they lived in. That was the reality he needed to worry about. Not a reality where he was _jealous_ of his ex-best friend and a man he barely knew.

He knew that, though. For ten years, he’s known. Seeing and being with Michael again just took him back to the start of it. Michael reminded him of how young they were, how much they still needed to grow, and the fact that they did the rest of that growing with infected surrounding them every day. How they were rushed to mature before they were even ready.

But Gavin wasn’t that seventeen year old who held onto Geoff when their neighbor started banging at their door. Michael wasn’t that eighteen year old who ran to his house that same evening to make sure he was okay and not sick like so many others were.  

Gavin was also not the eighteen year old that woke up one morning to find Michael gone without a trace. Yet, no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he still saw Michael as that nineteen year old who left. Nine years. Nine years without each other. Gavin felt as if he didn’t even know Michael anymore, and perhaps that was the problem.

Four years, they were best friends. In nine years, they lost all of that.

Gavin had moved on, though. He had to, of course. But now that Michael was back, with new memories, memories he had made without Gavin, Gavin realized how they were strangers now. He realized how much time had really passed. He realized how much had really changed in the world. And though Ray was absolutely correct and Gavin knew that, it still hurt. Perhaps it was pathetic to let it get to him the way it was, but he couldn’t help it.

Because how the hell could two people mean everything to each other and then mean nothing, only for it to mean something again, but not the same as before? Nothing was the same as before. It was impossible for anything to even try.

How the hell did anything even happen? And why was it affecting Gavin all over again?

 

 

* * *

 

_September 9, 2024_

“Alright, so, when we made our way through that mall the other day, I, uh, picked something up at the bookstore,” Ray said to everyone as he pulled out the specific object from his backpack.

“Oh, god,” Gavin mumbled, already having a feeling of what it could be.

They were entering a rundown hotel, their shoes and socks drenched from the water flooding the lowest floor, and Ryan was currently trying to find a way to get up onto the second floor. 

“Okay, hear me out. I’m usually not a fan of these, but it reminded me of Barb, and I’m bored right now, so…” Ray cleared his throat, “A book once fell on my head. I only have my shelf to blame.” Ryan abruptly halted his search and turned his head to stare questioningly at him.

“What is that?”

“A lame-ass joke book. Oh, my god, wait, listen to this one: I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went. Then it dawned on me,” he almost laughed while saying that one. “Holy shit, this book just _screams_ Barbara Dunkelman. I can’t wait to give this to her.”

“Who’s Barbara?” Ryan asked.

“A friend back in Boston,” Gavin replied.

“Okay, shut up,” Ray waved the book around Gavin’s face and Gavin did silence himself immediately. “This one is the best one: I walked into my sister’s room and tripped on a bra. It was a booby-trap.” Ryan wanted to roll his eyes, but he ended up smirking.

Even Gavin snickered, because hearing Ray laugh in such a loud and lively way wasn’t quite an often event, and it was contagious. Unlike Ryan, Michael really did roll his eyes.

“Michael, laugh,” Ray told him, though it sounded more like he was begging in his own way.

“Ha-ha.”

“Alright, fuck you, too. I’ll stop for now.”

“I think I’ll just give you each a lift up,” Ryan then said, walking over to the nearest wall where the floor above was hardly intact anymore. It would do, though. He put one hand underneath his other and waited for one of them to take their turn first. Michael went for it. Ray was next, and then Gavin. Michael was the one who reached down for Ryan to jump up and grab his hand, but Ray helped in lifting Ryan the rest of the way up.

“Can’t go up higher,” Gavin told them as he gestured toward the blocked off staircase.

“There should be a way out down through this way,” Ray said as he already made his way down the steps.

“We got up only to go back down.”

“But we’re ending up on the other side of the hotel. Gavin, look on the bright side.”

“Bright side, right,” Gavin sighed quietly.

They made it down onto the first floor again, but now they were in the hallway where the hotel rooms where. The water also wasn’t as high. In fact, there was only enough water to damp the floor. And since the rooms seemed to be blocked off in the way the staircase leading up was, the four of them didn’t bother getting into them. They merely headed out through the open emergency exit door and were met with an empty alleyway.

As they listened to the breeze brushing against their skin, they heard nothing out of the ordinary. They went left, toward a bridge they could see from a distance in hopes that it would lead them right out of this city and onto the next.

“Okay, if we keep going without stopping, we can make it there before tonight,” Ryan told them.

“Doesn’t look too far from here,” Michael said.

“Yeah, but you saw how the street in front of this hotel was blocked off. There could be more of those, or worse obstacles.”

“I just can’t wait to get some food in me,” Ray announced, a little too loudly, as he patted his own stomach. Ryan glanced at him with a small smile, though it faded when he caught sight of movement from the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and hissed “Shit” as he saw a pair of men walking out of a store nearby. “Hide, hurry,” he whispered, shoving Ray behind a broken down semi-truck. Gavin and Michael were right behind them, and they huddled up together to be able to get a peek at the men.

“I think we’ve cleaned out this area. I didn’t see a single Clicker in there, not even a Runner,” one of them spoke.

“Yeah, but boss says we gotta keep looking. Just to be safe,” the second one responded.

“Let’s go look in that hotel, then.”

Ryan moved toward the back of the truck, waving the others over to not be seen by those men walking toward them. They moved around the truck until they and the men were on opposite sides once again. Remaining crouched, Ray ran up to the front to check on where the bandits were now.

“Well?” Michael asked, voice hushed. The men were on their way down that alley to get inside the hotel and the second Ray saw them enter, he gave his friends the signal to stand.

“Woo, that was… bloody close,” Gavin laughed nervously as he got to his feet.

“No doubt that there’s more of them around. We have to stay close and quiet,” Ryan warned. He and Ray walked further up, leading the way. Gavin was going to pick up his pace to walk alongside them, but noticing how Michael wasn’t bothering to, he decided on trailing behind with him.

Michael was tugging at the ends of his jacket’s sleeves, as if they weren’t already too long – they hid his entire hands when he had them in fists. Gavin licked his lips as he pondered over what to say, if anything. Since the night he spotted him and Ryan together, he hadn’t said much to either of them unless it was about what they were doing or going to do. And honestly, he knew well how foolish he was being.

“How’ve you been, Michael?”

Michael continued to stare at his sleeves rather than at Gavin, “I’ve been worse.”

“I’m sure we could all agree there.”

“There’s actually something I want to ask you.”

Gavin’s eyebrows rose. He hadn’t expected that. “Go ahead,” he said.

“I don’t know how stupid it is to bring this up, but with us going to see Geoff and Griffon, I’ve just been _wondering_ how they’re going to react, because the last time…” Michael paused and huffed, irritated with his own self for having difficulty with coming out with it. “Were they… disappointed or anything, when I left?”

“Why are you worried about that?”

“Because, Gavin, I was close to them. Obviously not as close you, but I looked up to them, and just… so much _crap_ has happened already-”

“Michael, they’re Geoff and Griffon. What are you expecting? They were a little disappointed, but not in the way you think. They could understand why you left.” _Unlike me_ , he thought afterward, though that didn’t matter to ever say out loud. Michael wasn’t asking about him.

“It just feels weird, I guess. I never imagined seeing them or you again…”

“The world is getting smaller and smaller every day.”

Michael’s frown deepened and for a second, Gavin wanted to attempt to continue their little talk, but really, what good was it doing? It was just further opening that old wound.

“I even sometimes let myself actually think about the possibility-”

“Michael, I don’t want to talk about this anymore, if that’s okay with you,” Gavin cut him off, looking away. Michael furrowed his eyebrows as he finally faced him, but he didn’t argue; he just nodded.

 

* * *

 

_Nine years earlier._

The panic fueling him wasn’t allowing him to concentrate on what he was supposed to do. But how was one not going to panic when they were pushed up against the wall with an infected trapping him there with the purpose of biting him? Gavin had his hands on its shoulders and he was trying to push it away or something, for some reason, his strength wasn’t matching up with it. Finally, he couldn’t take it.

“ _M-Michael_!” He cried, the name sounding strangled in his throat. The Runner seemed to respond to him by grunting out loudly as he went in for another go at trying to bite Gavin’s neck. Gavin could hardly hear anything aside from his heart pounding in his chest, like a loud drumbeat within his ears.

But then the Runner was being yanked back, away from him, and he got a second glance of Michael grabbing by its shirt collar before he shielded himself and a shot was fired. When he lowered his arms to look at his best friend again, he was taken aback by the utter rage on his face. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from launching forward at him. He wrapped his arms tightly around him and hid his face in the crook of his neck, and every inch of fear he had just felt was melting away. He knew he had been trembling, but he was okay now.

Everything was okay now.

Except for the fact that Michael pushed him off. Gavin stumbled a little and gaped at him after regaining his balance.

“Stop wasting time, okay? You’re fine. You survived,” Michael told him, his tone much more bitter than it needed to be. He turned on his heel and practically stomped off while Gavin stood there, dumbstruck.

However, Gavin did eventually shake his head and run to catch up with him. “Thank you,” he tried. “I _appreciate_ it, Michael.”

“You could have done it yourself.”

“I panicked.”

“Yeah?” Michael spun back around and Gavin abruptly halted. “Well, you fucking panic a little too much. When the hell are you going to learn to handle shit on your own? What if I had gone further and didn’t hear you screaming?!”

“Why are you angry at me about this?”

“I’M NOT!”

Gavin snorted and narrowed his eyes, and then Michael’s expression softened.

“I’m not,” he repeated, calmer now. “I’m just _tired_ of coming to your rescue all the time.”

“It’s not all the time!”

“Well, it feels like it- ah, you know? I’m done talking about this. Let’s _go_. Geoff and Griffon are waiting for us,” again, Michael turned away and rushed off, but Gavin was right behind him this time.

“I know what this is about, Michael.”

“Shut up, Gavin.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Those infected snuck up on us when we were sleeping and your parents-”

“I swear to god, Gavin, if you don’t shut the _fuck_ up right now!”

“I’m sorry, Michael,” Gavin whispered. Though Michael felt as if he was _seething_ with anger, he sighed and mentally apologized in return to Gavin.

 

* * *

 

_Present_

The sun was setting again, on another dreadfully long day. They were closer to reaching the bridge, but a group of bandits were surrounding the area. They decided to rest up and look for a way around in the morning. Neither of them were in any mood to deal with other people who just cared about themselves surviving and would shoot anyone else on sight. It wasn’t worth the energy.

Stuck inside an old video game shop, Ray and Gavin entertained each other with looking through the shelves of video games, and marveling over the ones they used to play. What a shame it was not to be able to play anymore.

“I always wanted to find some sort of job that would let me play games for a living,” Ray commented as he started looking through a stack of video games that were in the “clearance” basket. Gavin smiled at him.

Michael was sitting up against a wall on the other side of the room, giving himself a good look out the window, but for a moment, he had his eyes on something else. His sleeve wasn’t pulled up high enough to see it clearly, yet he didn’t need it to. He was brushing two of his fingers over the skin around it, and then he brushed along the small part of it that was exposed. He almost cringed at the difference the two spots felt. While his skin was decently soft and smooth, the bitten skin was rough and bumpy, and absolutely disgusting.

After a while of that, he pulled his sleeve down and turned his attention outside until he felt and saw a presence approaching him.

“I’ve caught you doing that a few times now,” it was Ryan. Michael looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, but he couldn’t deny how intimidated Ryan made him sometimes.

“Doing what?” He asked, though he had a bad feeling he knew the answer.

“What’s on your arm, Michael?” Yes, that’s what he thought. Michael gulped and opened his mouth to answer, but he ended up sputtering, because no other excuse that came to mind sounded convincing. At least not convincing enough for someone like Ryan to believe.

Ryan got down on his knees in front of him, that cold gaze in his eyes not wavering a bit. Michael froze still where he sat and wondered what Ryan was going to do before Ryan just did it; the man grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled his sleeve up as high as it would go while Michael attempted to pull free.

“Infected,” Ryan breathed, getting a mere quick glimpse at the bite before Michael managed to pull his arm away and hide it. “Since when?” He demanded.

“Ryan, no, listen-”

“Since _when_?!” It was that rise in volume that caused Ray and Gavin to turn around and see what was going on.

Michael took a deep, shaky breath. This wasn’t how he had planned for it to happen. He had no choice now. “About three months…”

Ryan blinked hard and cocked his head to the side. “ _What_?!”

“Oh, bollocks,” Gavin said to himself. Ray heard him and turned to him, looking more baffled than Gavin had ever seen him.

“I’m not lying,” Michael told Ryan, holding his hands up to stop Ryan from trying anything else. “Why the fuck would I lie about this?”

“You should have turned by now! What the _hell_ are you?!”

“I don’t know!” The way Michael shouted back silenced Ryan, and for a moment, they just stared at one another, wide eyes. Gavin used the opportunity to make his way over to them and before Ryan could even comprehend the fact that Gavin was there, Gavin squeezed in between them, shielding Michael.

“You aren’t going to do anything stupid, are you?”

Then it dawned on Ryan. “You knew,” he growled.

“I did say he would be the first to know,” Michael defended.

“How long have you known, Gavin?” Ryan demanded once again.

“It doesn’t matter. You know as well now. Each of us know. No more secrets,” Gavin answered. Ray was walking toward them, slowly but surely, like he was unsure about getting too close to Michael.

“How- just _how_?” He questioned. Everyone turned their heads to look at him, but it was Michael was focusing on.

“Why else do you think I’m looking for the Fireflies?” Michael responded and Ray stopped walking altogether. Seeing as though no one was attempting to shoot him dead, Michael lifted his sleeve up again to reveal the entire bite to them. At this, Ray took long strides until he was hovering Ryan, and his mouth fell open as he got a look at it.

Hesitantly, Ryan brought a hand up and gently tapped the bite with a finger, but he didn’t have to touch to know that it wasn’t an ordinary bite. It wasn’t bleeding or getting increasingly worse like he’d seen happen to other people who got bit. It was almost a scar – a terrible, hideous, and large scar.

“I can’t believe this,” he said under his breath. “How did you not kill yourself first?”

Despite Ray still intently staring at the bite, Michael rolled his sleeve down and stood up. Gavin and Ryan also stood, but they did move away slightly to give him space. Michael rubbed his face and inhaled sharply, because he knew he would have to tell this story one day.

As Gavin said… no more secrets.

“My friend – Lindsay, she was with me when I got bit. I told her, ‘You know what to do’, but she… she didn’t want to, at least not right away. She told me, ‘Hey, why get it over with so quickly? Let me spend my last moments with you’. I didn’t want to agree with that. I didn’t want to risk turning on her, but… we’d been through so fucking much together, so yeah, sure, I agreed.

“Evening turned into night, we thought it would happen in the morning. She said she wouldn’t sleep. I wasn’t going to, either. I doubted I even could if I wanted to. I was… I was terrified. So many god damn years of surviving just thrown away, just like that. We stayed up and talked, about _everything_. I got to know her way better and I already thought I knew her enough. I was mad about that, too, because she was even more amazing,” Michael wet his dry lips and averted his eyes.

“Night turned into morning, and I was still okay. She asked me if I felt any different or sick. I didn’t. Morning turned into afternoon. I was still me. She looked at me and said, ‘Let’s just go back. I know it sounds stupid, but maybe you’re lucky’. I told her that was bullshit. I was _going_ to turn. _Everyone_ who gets bit turns. I said that it’s probably just taking longer with me, for whatever bullshit reason, but she said, ‘What if you don’t, though? What if you’ll be okay’?

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to say or think. I was fucking tired from being up all night and from the long day we had before I was bit. I just didn’t want to argue with her. So, we got up and… we went back to our zone. We made a promise not to tell anyone, because we knew they wouldn’t understand. And then… days turned into weeks. I knew there was something I had to do, because _this_ ,” he pointed to his forearm, “this can’t be possible, but it is. I knew I needed to figure out why _me_. So, _here_ I am!”

Ryan wasn’t facing anymore. He had turned away, staring off at a random spot on the floor with a dazed look. Ray had his mouth covered with a hand, brows raised and head slightly shaking left and right. Gavin was the only one actually looking at Michael and he reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Michael met his eye, then, and they stared at each other, allowing the silence to swallow them up.


	3. In Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought long and hard about this decision before FINALLY making it right now. I cut this up into two. The reason for that being... it was VERY long, especially after I rewrote a few parts and added in an extra part that wasn't there originally, but I kept thinking about how I wanted to write that part in, so I did. Yeah, this ended up going from 11k words to 16k and I was like "Welp, maybe i should cut it up a little." 
> 
> I'm _very_ picky about the endings to my fics, even when they're already completed. I just kept reading it over last night and thinking, "Eh, why did I only make this 3 chapters. This chapter needs be 2 to sound better." But since I hadn't edited it the first time over, I thought 3 chapters would be fine. Nah, I changed my mind, as I always do with my fics, haha. I'm not making anyone wait another week for the real final chapter, though. I'll probably just post it tomorrow, because you were supposed to get the entire thing this weekend. It wouldn't be cool if I made you wait a week. 
> 
> Also, I mentioned before that I wasn't exactly following the game's story line (not word for word, etc), but I definitely am following the areas Ellie and Joel traveled to. And because the Fall part is one of my favorites, some of the things that happened in the game will happen here, too. It won't be _exactly_ what happened, but very similar. I couldn't help myself. Ooop. 
> 
> Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what's going on with the chapters. So, enjoy!

_December 19, 2024_

He could be asked numerous times how he ended up where he was and he wouldn’t know what to say in response. He held tightly onto the pistol despite the shakiness of his hand, but there was no hesitation. None at all. He released the trigger and the breath he’d been holding before collapsing onto his knees. The choked up noise that came out of him next caught him by surprise, but he didn’t hold back. He dropped the gun and balled his hands into tight fists before he repeatedly slammed them onto the freezing, concrete floor.

And he could barely comprehend anything else that was occurring around him until he was sure someone was next to him and wrapping their arms around him. They felt warm compared to how god damn cold he was. His entire face was numb, but the hot tears streaming down helped get back some of the feeling on his cheeks. He didn’t bother to wipe them away. He didn’t bother to do a thing but remain still, hiccupping and gasping for air as he tried to steady his strangled sobs.

He could still hear the words that’d been haunting him since they were first spoken. In fact, that was all he could hear right now.

_I can’t wait for all of you to be done with this shit so you can come back to see us again._

_Why don’t you ask yourself this: what’s really worth everything you’re doing right now?_

_Please…_ please _, no! Don’t do this to me! You can’t leave me!_

 _In the end, it’ll all be_ okay _._

So why wasn’t it now? Where, along the way, did they go wrong?

 

* * *

 

_Fall_

“Do you have any idea how much further their place can be?” Ryan asked Gavin as they walked along a path near the rapidly running water. 

Gavin looked around at their surroundings, but he couldn’t quite tell where they were supposed to be. He shrugged, “It shouldn’t be too far from here,” he guessed. Michael side eyed him curiously there, but other than that, he didn’t question the Brit.

Ray did as well. He couldn’t blame Gavin for not knowing the exact location. When Geoff and Griffon left Boston, all they said was that they were heading toward Wyoming, and were considering settling in Jackson. Their reasons were that they heard of areas that had actual electrify and plenty of food still around that they were excited to get to. Which also led to them being disappointed when Gavin decided not to join them, but they told him to try and visit whenever he got the chance.

“There’s no way for us to keep going forward this way. We have to go across,” Ryan pointed out. Straight ahead was nothing but the dam and at least there seemed to be plant they could cut through across.

“So, do we just swim...?” Michael asked, gesturing toward the flowing water.

“Sure! If you want to go down stream and land right where we started,” Ryan smirked at him. Michael, however, wasn’t amused.

Ray hopped over an iron fence where the dam began and noticed the water was slightly calmer in the area. The high path on the other side had a damaged spot that they could use to climb their way up since it was slanted. “Actually, we can swim. Just over here,” he told the others. Ryan, Gavin, and Michael made their way over the fence to join Ray’s side and he explained to them what they needed to do.

“Oh, so we are going _swimming_ ,” Michael said, looking directly at Ryan. Ryan snickered.

“Yeah, Michael. You should go first,” Ryan’s tone was awfully sweet as he spoke that Michael hadn’t expected to be pushed. Michael’s arms flailed wildly, though it was useless, and once he realized that, he accepted his fate. 

“Ooh, that would suck if he didn’t know how to swim,” Ray joked. The three of them watched as Michael ascended from the water, his mouth wide open as he gasped for air, and his hair was flat against his face, covering his eyes. He brushed his hair back with his fingers and snarled up at Ryan.

“Hey, while you’re in there, why don’t you go and see if you can get up on that path?” Oh, Ryan was enjoying this entirely too much. Michael let out a quiet growl as he swam over to the damaged area and pushed himself up onto it. Gavin cringed at the sight of Michael soaking wet as he stood up onto the path and turned around to face them. Ryan gave him a thumbs up.

“Thanks Michael!” He called. Michael just feigned a loud, obnoxious laugh. Ryan held back a real laugh as he turned to Gavin and Ray. “Either of you want to go next.”

Ray held out his hand for Gavin and Gavin raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll never let go,” Ray whispered. Gavin shook his head, a ghost of a smile forming, and he did take Ray’s hand. Ryan stepped back as they both jumped in together.

Once they reached Michael, Michael bent down to assist them so they wouldn’t have to pull themselves up as much. But when Ryan swam his way over, Michael stood and folded his arms across his chest.

“Can you help me?” Ryan politely asked, though the humor behind his eyes was quite obvious.

The corners of Michael’s lips rose, high enough to make his dimple appear, and then Michael walked away. Gavin snorted and averted his eyes as he bit the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing any further. He followed Michael as Ray stayed behind to lend Ryan a hand.

“So, we’ve accomplished to get soaked, and now we have to deal with wearing these wet clothes until we get to the Geoff and Griffon,” Ray said, purposely adding a dramatic sigh.

“We should have swam naked,” Gavin replied.

“Gavin, _Gavin_ , if you want me to see me naked, just ask. I trust you.”

Gavin turned around and waited until Ray, with his huge and stupid grin on his face, before he looked down at Ray’s shirt and reached his hand out. “I think I’ve seen enough of you,” he said as he gently pinched the nipple that was practically poking through Ray’s white shirt.

“Ow,” Ray hissed, swatting Gavin’s hand away.

“Okay, _kids_. Can we get going?” Michael asked as he stood a few feet away, folding up bunches of his clothes as he twisted them to rid more of the water from them. Once everyone’s attention was turned on him, he gestured toward the plant. “What do we do about this?”

“Can’t go around, so I say we just walk right through,” Ryan answered as he ran his fingers through his damp hair to get it away from his face.  

“Alright,” Michael resumed walking ahead of them to get to the entrance first. When he reached it, he started his attempts at opening it, but he froze at the feeling of something cold being pressed against his temple.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A harsh voice demanded. Michael put his hands up and through his peripheral vision, he could see the strange man sternly staring him down.

The other three halted in their tracks as they got close enough to see what was going on. The strange man looked over at them and Ryan opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the man shouting.

“WE GOT COMPANY! Open the doors! One of them isn’t going anywhere!”

“Jesus Christ, James, you’re loud as dicks,” a voice from the other side of the doors responded before the person behind it opened up the doors. Michael’s brows shot up in delight as he came face-to-face with Geoff Ramsey himself.

Geoff paused his movements and merely gaped at Michael, like he was trying to figure out if he was really seeing him or not. But then he glanced over and noticed Ray and Gavin, and he knew he wasn’t imagining anything. There was a mixture of excitement, confusion, and then slight anger that flashed across Geoff’s face.

“Get the gun away from him,” he scolded James, pushing the man away from Michael.

“What?” James asked, but he received the answer to his own confusion as he watched Geoff pull Michael into his arms. James quickly lowered his gun and stepped back.

It wasn’t too long after that Gavin was right by Geoff’s side and Geoff was pulling him into the tight embrace. Ray picked up his pace next while Ryan trailed behind.

“Hey, Geoff, I’m here, too,” Ray said, tapping the man on his shoulder. Geoff laughed as he finally let go of Michael and Gavin and went to hug Ray the same kind of hug. “Oh, my god, alright,” Ray sounded breathless, though he did pat Geoff’s back.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Geoff asked, pulling away from Ray to look at all three of them. “I can’t fucking believe I’m actually _seeing_ you guys right now. Ray,” he gently slapped his hand against Ray’s cheek. “Gavin, you piece of shit,” he pinched Gavin’s cheek, much to Gavin’s dismay, and he fully turned to face Michael, smile only increasing. “And _you_.”

“Yeah... it’s been a long time,” Michael said, shrugging.

“Yeah… yeah, it has been,” Geoff nodded. “Well, what the hell are you guys doing here? And _why_ are you all fucking _wet_?” That’s when he caught glimpse of Ryan, and he pointed at him with his thumb, “Who the hell is that?”

“Ryan,” Ray answered. At that, Ryan held out his hand and Geoff gladly shook it.

“It’s kind of simple, really, why we’re here,” Gavin started and he waited until Geoff’s eyes were on again before proceeding, “We’re looking for the Fireflies and since you and Griffon were once Fireflies, we figured you would know where we could find them.” Geoff squeezed his eyebrows together.

“Why are you looking for them?”

“Well, it’s mostly _me_ who’s looking for them,” Michael spoke up. “They’re just coming with me.” Gavin nodded in agreement.

“Okay, but why? What do you have to do with them?” Geoff asked.

“That’s where the word ‘simple’ takes a rough turn, and we’ll gladly explain the rest later, but right now… where’s Griffon?” Gavin anxiously questioned. That was something Geoff couldn’t deny answering. His smile returned as he signaled for all of them to follow him.

“Listen, Griffon is going to be absolutely thrilled to see you guys. She was just talking about you, Gavin, the other day – about how the first month we had you and you kept pointing out _every little thing_ that was different about America than the UK. God, you were kind of annoying sometimes.”

“I was fourteen!”

“Gavin, the _only_ way that argument would have worked is if you were _four_ instead four _teen_ ,” Ray told him.

Michael placed a hand on Ray’s shoulder and walked a little faster so that he was walking side-by-side with him. “Ray, did Geoff ever tell you the story about how Gavin wet his bed?” Ray couldn’t have prevented the loud laughter that came out of him if he had wanted to, especially with the blatantly irritated expression that formed on Gavin’s face.

“At _fourteen_ , Gavin?” Ray asked through his laughing fit.

“No, he was sixteen,” Geoff casually answered. Now Ray was leaning onto Michael for support as he walked and laughed. Gavin may have appeared to be frustrated, but in all honesty, seeing everyone smile and laugh the way they were felt so… _normal_ , and he liked it. They were each just having a good time talking, except for maybe Ryan who wasn’t sure what anyone was talking about and had no idea who Geoff and Griffon were, aside from the stories he’d heard from Gavin, Michael, and Ray. But even if Ryan didn’t know how to participate in the conversation, he seemed amused by Ray’s laughter.

“Geoff, you have to tell me that story later,” Ray was finally able to form words without laughing in between.

Geoff reached into the pocket of the black hoodie he was wearing and pulled out keys to unlock the door in front of them. Gavin looked around at their surroundings as they waited. The sky was covered in grey clouds, but it still stung his eyes to stare too long at it. There were workers all around, tending to crops and livestock. He even saw a few horses in the back being fed.

“Christ, Geoff, what is this place?”

Geoff pushed open the door and looked over his shoulder at Gavin. He followed Gavin’s gaze and smiled, “Nice, isn’t it? We found this place when we traveled here and thought about starting it back up. Now, a few years later and here we are. We have food, electricity – it’s almost like nothing bad is going on.” He faced forward again and entered inside, and everyone else followed suit.

Gavin took one last good look at everything before heading inside as well. Where they had gone into seemed to be a dining area, considering the rows of tables and people scattered around with filled plates in front of them. Geoff walked right on over to the table on the far left and leaned down slightly to place a kiss on top of his wife’s head.

Griffon smiled up at him from her now empty plate. “Hey, you. Why do you look so excited?” It was true, Geoff was practically bouncing. Instead of speaking, he gestured toward the group following him. Griffon looked over and gasped as her eyes fell on Gavin, and then Ray and Michael. She jumped up, knocking her chair down, but she ignored in favor of making her way up to the three boys. Her heart swelled as they turned away from staring at the food to face her.

She took turns hugging them and kissing each of them on their foreheads, but of course Gavin got the extra kiss and longer hug. And when she questioned them about their wet clothes and hair, they sighed and said they rather not talk about it.

“Well, you guys should get a change of clothes,” she insisted.

“No, we’re fine. We’ll air dry,” Gavin assured her with a smile. 

Ryan just awkwardly stood aside and rubbed his neck until Griffon finally turned to him. They introduced themselves and she asked all of them if they were hungry. She hurried to get them each a plate of food and Geoff told them to take a seat before he left to help her.

Gavin and Ray were completely mesmerized by where they were, and they continued to look at every inch they could see with wide eyes and mouths agape.

“So, what’s our plan now? Ask Geoff where to go and head on our way immediately?” Ryan asked.

“No way. This is Heaven,” Ray answered.

Michael smirked at him and looked forward at Ryan. “We could stay overnight, at least. We haven’t really slept in a few days.” Ryan nodded. He could go with that.

Geoff and Griffon returned moments later and placed a plate of steamed vegetables and pieces of beef in front of each of them. Ray was drooling from just the smell of it and he wasted no time in grabbing his fork and beginning to fill his mouth. Griffon and Geoff also sat down.

“So, how have you boys been? There’s _so_ much to talk about. It’s been _too_ long,” Griffon said. “Gavin and Ray, still in Boston?” The two nodded, mouths too full to speak. She smiled at that and directed her attention to Michael next. “Aw, Michael, seeing you brings back so many nice memories.”

Michael swallowed the food that was in his mouth and faintly smiled at her. “I know what you mean,” he said, glancing at Gavin for a second. Although that glance wasn’t meant to be noticed, Griffon did took note of it and smiled to herself before she looked at Ryan.

“So, how do you know these boys?” She asked him.

Ryan perked up and offered her a smile as he answered, “I mostly knew Ray and met Gavin through him, but I was actually good allies with Michael a few years back. At first, it was just going to be the three of them on this… journey, but I decided I wanted to join them.”

“Which is great, because I think you’re the only one out of us that knows exactly where we’re going most of the time,” Ray admitted. He shifted his eyes to Griffon, “Half of the time, I felt lost while we were trying to get here. But Ryan kept walking and I kept following, and look, we’re here in one piece!”

“Well, I’m glad the four of you have helped each other and made it this far,” Griffon told them. “When Geoff was helping me with the food, he mentioned you boys were looking for the Fireflies?”

“Yeah, uh… yeah,” Michael answered, keeping his head down so she couldn’t see the expression on his face.

“Hmm, guess I won’t know why?” Ryan, Ray, and Gavin also then averted their eyes. Griffon let out a drawled out sigh and nudged Geoff next to her. “We should tell them where their lab is, then.”

“You don’t want to beat the truth out of them first?” Geoff asked, false and humorous shock covering his face. Gavin almost laughed. Griffon grinned and shook her head. “Alright,” Geoff shrugged, turning his head to face each of them. “University of Eastern Colorado. They used the science department as their lab.”

Ray leaned in a little close to Ryan as he whispered, “Do you know how to get there?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ryan whispered in return. That was comforting enough. Ray nodded and sat up again in his seat.

“You four do plan on staying for the night, right?” Geoff couldn’t help but ask when silence began to fall over them. All of them nodded and his face instantly brightened up. “Well, after we’re done here, I’ll show you boys where you’ll be staying.”

 

 

* * *

 

The area was made up of the main building, and beyond that were where the homes were set up – various smaller buildings filled with families, it was a wonder that there were still some of them vacant. There was nothing elaborate to them – just a few beds, a TV that apparently did work if they felt like watching movies, a bookshelf, and a sofa. Geoff explained that some of the homes had more, it just depended on how many were going to be living there. But since it was only the four of them, they were going to be staying in two buildings right next to each other. Geoff decided Michael and Gavin could be in one while Ray and Ryan stayed in the second.

Although, once everyone had retired for the night and after Michael had fallen asleep, Gavin snuck out and made his way next door. He quietly closed the door behind him, because although he was sure Ray wasn’t asleep, he didn’t want to risk waking Ryan up. He turned around and practically tip-toed his way to Ray’s bed, and Ray felt the small dip on the edge as Gavin sat down.

“Ray?” Gavin whispered. Ray sighed, but he did open his eyes.

“Yes?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

There was a part of Ray that wanted to kick Gavin out, tell him they could talk in the morning. He wasn’t desperate for sleep – in fact, he’d been failing to sleep for an hour now, but he wasn’t quite in the “talking” mood. However, he found himself scooting over for Gavin to slip under the covers with him. Gavin happily crawled under and rested his head on the pillow, staring up at the steel ceiling.

“Alright, Gav, talk,” Ray spoke. Unlike him, Gavin was feeling the heaviness on his eyelids, but he blinked hard to push back the urge to sleep a little.

“Right… I was only curious about how you were feeling.”

“Why me?”

“What do you mean ‘why me’? Ray, you and I have been through a lot together. And now here you are, with me, when you should just be back in Boston with everyone else. I have to know that you’re still okay.”

Ray’s lips curled up slightly. “I’m fine,” he nodded. That smile of his fell, though, as something crossed his mind. “What about _you_?”

“Hmm?” Gavin turned his head to look at him.

“That one night, a while ago, you were pretty upset over finding Michael and Ryan alone. I know I told you to get over it, but… I understand, and I’m sorry. Are _you_ okay?”

Gavin raised his eyebrows. He had almost forgotten about that. “Of course I am,” he answered.

“So, you and Michael… nothing going on there?” Gavin had to fight back the urge to laugh, for Ryan’s sake.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“But feelings do still happen, even if there are more important things to worry about. I mean, how do you feel about him?”

“You want the truth?”

“We’re already talking, yeah.”

Gavin shifted in the bed, rolling onto his side to face Ray better. He averted his eyes, though, and thought about where to start. “The day he arrived, I was _absolutely_ shocked to see him. The reason I was so quick to help him was because… seeing him… it brought back everything. Everything I had pushed back for nine years – it all came rushing back to me. I was excited and confused that he was there, and I didn’t know what to do or say, but I did know I didn’t want to let him go again. So when the opportunity to help him came, I took it.

“I _was_ in love with him, but I can’t tell you exactly how I feel about him now. He was my best friend and I’ll just always care about him. If you’re wondering when I discovered that I loved him, I won’t tell you any of that information, because there was never any _moment_. I just knew,” he shrugged a shoulder. “I was never interested in any blokes before Michael, that was for sure, but I didn’t mind it.”

“Did he… ever feel the same way?” asked Ray. Gavin gave him a sad smile in response.

“Well, there was one time, right before his senior prom. He planned on asking this girl, but when he finally got around to asking, he found out she was already going with someone else. To cheer him up, I told him that I would go with him. He laughed and said, ‘I’m not worried about going alone, you idiot. I just really wanted to go with her’. I didn’t know what to say to that, but then he spoke up again, and said, ‘Do you actually want to go? I have a second ticket that’s not going to be used now’. I agreed to go, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. And then, a few days later, he calls me and tells me to go to the mall with him. I meet him there and find out we’re shopping for clothes for prom.”

“Aw, did you two match?” Ray teased. Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Yes, we did.”

“Oh, my god.”

“We went to that rubbish dance together and just spent our time with our other friends. It wasn’t too bad. I had a good time. I think he did, too. Geoff picked us up at the end of the night and when we got to his house, I walked him to the door, just like any other night. He looked at me and asked, ‘Is this where you kiss me goodnight’,” Gavin breathed out a laugh at the memory, “I knew he was kidding, so I just smiled and told him I would talk to him tomorrow. He nodded, but before I could walk away, he grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned back to him and he just… kissed me. Well, it wasn’t much of a kiss – it happened and ended so fast that I didn’t really realize it happened at all until I got back to the car and Geoff was teasing me about it.”

“So, he did return the feelings,” Ray stated.

“I think he was just playing along with what he said – the goodnight kiss. We never talked about it. When we saw each other on Monday, we were back to being the friends we always were, so I don’t know. I _never_ understood if he did or didn’t feel the same. I sometimes wondered if he just didn’t want to admit that he might like another bloke…”

“Man,” Ray laughed lightly. “That’s the kind of stuff we used to care about. Those problems are so simple now, compared to everything else.”

Gavin frowned, though he did agree. He really wasn’t certain what his feelings toward Michael were. Although Michael had his moments were he acted like the same person Gavin knew a long time ago, it was also evident he wasn’t entirely that person Gavin had originally fallen for. But nobody was who they used to be. Perhaps, if Gavin did still harbor feelings, they were more for the memories. He was in love with their past life, the one where they were together – inseparable. But actually in love with _Michael_ , that was almost unlikely to still be true.

Either way, he was too tired to think about it. So he closed his eyes, forgetting he was in Ray’s bed, and allowed sleep to overtake him.

He woke slowly, blinking his eyes open, but when the face hovering over him became clear and he saw Geoff grinning down at him, he jumped, kicking Ray in the process. Ray woke with a jolt, but he quickly groaned and relaxed when he realized what had occurred.

“Went to look for you, didn’t find you in your bed. I was only a little surprised to find you here,” Geoff told Gavin. Gavin took a deep breath and shook his head as he calmly sat up.

“What is it, Geoff?”

“Breakfast’s ready if you’re hungry. Come on, you two,” the older man nodded toward the door, “everyone else is already eating.” It took effort, but Ray and Gavin managed to get themselves out of the bed.

They lazily followed Geoff, trailing behind as they yawned and rubbed their eyes. Eventually, they reached the little dining area, and while Ray wandered off to join Ryan and Michael, Geoff asked Gavin to keep following him.

“So, you guys planning on leaving today?” Geoff asked as he helped himself to a plate of baked beans and rice. Gavin picked up a plate as well and nodded. “Stay one more day, it wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I miss you, buddy, more than I thought I could,” Geoff winked at him.

The two of them made their way to a small table and sat there alone as they began to dig into their meal. Gavin glanced over to where his friends sat and tensed to find Michael already staring at him. Michael smiled when their eyes locked, and Gavin tried to, but he was practically forcing the corners of his lips to rise that they ended up just twitching upward. Geoff chuckled, bringing Gavin’s attention back to him.

“You and Michael…” Geoff sighed, “Didn’t think I’d ever see you two together again.”

Gavin sat up better in his seat and set his spoon down. “There is something you should know about him. I think it’s better if he tells you himself, but I don’t want you to be surprised.”

“What’s that, buddy?”

Gavin paused for a moment before throwing his hands up and just saying it. There was no use beating around the bush. “He’s immune. That’s why we’re looking for the Fireflies.” Slowly, Geoff’s smile faltered, as did the rest of his face.

“Are you drunk?”

“What? No. I’m being serious. He can prove it to you.”

“How the hell is someone immune?”

“I don’t know, Geoff. Maybe we can figure that out later.”

“So, he was… bit and… that’s it?”

Gavin nodded. “He has the mark, but it doesn’t look as terrible as it should. It kind of healed itself.” Geoff’s mouth fell open at that, and he turned his head to look at Michael who was staring down and eating his food again.

“Huh. I always knew there was something special about him.”

“Me too,” Gavin whispered, intentionally very soft so that Geoff wouldn’t hear. Geoff heard anyway and turned his gaze on him once more.

“I’m sorry about what happened between you guys. I know it was really hard on you when he left.”

“Yeah.”

“But hey, this is a really nice thing you’re doing, okay? And it’s not just because it’s Michael you’re doing it for.”

Gavin snuck a quick peek at Michael. “Geoff, if it weren’t anyone else, I wouldn’t be doing it,” but then his eyebrows squeezed together, “No, that’s a lie. If it were anyone but him, you, or Griffon, I wouldn’t do it.” Geoff laughed and reached over to gently rest his hand over Gavin’s. Gavin smiled back at him.

“Just take it easy, Gavin. Stay one more day.”

“I’ll talk to them about it,” he promised. With that, they resumed eating, in comfortable silence.

And after they were finished, Geoff waved him away while he cleaned up, so Gavin decided to talk to the others about staying a little longer. He sat across from Michael and right next to Ray, and he pretended like he didn’t notice how Michael was sitting exceptionally close to Ryan.

“Geoff wants us to stay for another day, get ourselves better rested and prepared,” Gavin explained.

“I’m rested enough and ready to go to get this over with,” Ryan replied.

“As much as I love being here with Geoff and Griffon, I agree with Ryan,” Ray added. Each of them looked at Michael for his answer.

“Hey, I’m good with whatever you guys end up deciding,” he told them.

“Well, two against one. Sorry, Gavin,” Ryan said, standing. “We’ll leave in a few hours. Get whatever you need ready by then.” Michael also got to his feet and smiled up at Ryan before heading out through a different way. Gavin tried not rolling his eyes at that, but while Ray stayed to finish up his meal, Gavin went after Ryan.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, knowing someone was following, but when he looked to see who, he frowned. “The faster we get there-”

“I don’t want to talk to you about that,” Gavin cut him off. Ryan slowed his steps, suddenly intrigued.

“Go on, then.”

“You and Michael… I know you two have a bit of a history.”

“Mm, I know you two do as well.”

“I’ve just seen the way he looks at you.”

At this, Ryan snickered. “Yeah, he does that. Always has.” Gavin immediately halted in his tracks, and the urge to curse himself for being affected by that news overcame him. Ryan stopped walking once he reached the door and was surprised to find how far he’d gotten from Gavin. “Gavin?”

Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat and hurried to close the distance between them. “I don’t know what the bloody hell is going on with me. I had a talk with Ray last night and now I can’t stop thinking about… Michael.” Ryan parted his lips and nodded, understanding.

“If it makes you feel any better, Michael and I – we never did anything. We were just allies. I always tried convincing myself not to care about anyone like that,” his eyes then flickered to where Ray was seated, “I still try to convince myself, but I think I’ve learned that… it’s okay, sometimes.”

“Even when there are other more important things around us to worry about?”

“Well, that’s how I want to think – actually, that’s how I _did_ think, but we deserve some happiness, don’t we?”

Gavin blinked and averted his eyes, unsure how to respond. Ryan dropped his gaze from Ray and cleared his throat before excusing himself. Gavin stood there a while, contemplating whether to sit with Ray while he ate, but there was definitely something he wanted to ask Michael. He decided it was best to ask him now before the four of them were back together and they had little privacy.

Michael was in the bedroom they were supposed to have shared the night before. He was checking to make sure he had his things put together in his backpack when Gavin walked in.

“Hey, Gav,” Michael greeted, setting his backpack aside. Gavin stepped further into the room and sat down on one of the beds – Michael’s temporary one, he assumed.

“After all of this is over, what do you plan to do?” Gavin questioned, looking up at him. Michael appeared a little taken aback, but he quickly regained himself and walked on over to sit down next to Gavin.

“I was… well, fuck, I was planning on staying with the Fireflies. But that was when I didn’t expect to find and do this with you.”

“So now…?”

“I have no idea what the fuck I’m going to do.”

Gavin looked away as he nodded. He couldn’t answer that, either. Although there was a part of him who had the urge to say, “Let’s stick together”, there was also another part that wanted to get away already. He wanted to get back to Boston, see if his friends were alright, and go back to the life he’d grown used to. But after all of this time, could he really let go of Michael that easily? Again? It was difficult enough the first time.

He jumped to his feet and began to pace. Michael just watched, his head tilting to the side.

“Everything’s so different now,” Gavin quietly said. Michael frowned, though he stood up as well.

“Gav…” He slowly approached him. Gavin bit down on his lower lip as he felt hands cup his face. He had to force himself to meet Michael’s eyes, but that only caused his heart’s rate to speed up. He also couldn’t help how his eyes trailed down to stare at Michael’s lips – everything he had told Ray the night before coming back. But it was when Michael began to lean in that he felt as if he couldn’t move.

“Michael,” he breathed.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want you to leave again.”

There was nothing else that needed to be said. Michael closed the short gap between their mouths and Gavin happily reciprocated once their lips met and were moving together. At some point, Michael had removed his hands from Gavin’s face, only to place them on his hips a moment later. And he used the new placement to gently pull Gavin closer. With the newfound closeness, Gavin pulled away from the kiss only to duck his head slightly and trail kisses along Michael’s jawline. He heard a satisfying hum from Michael that had goosebumps rising on his arms.

As his kisses travelled lower, he moved his own hands upward until his fingers were running through Michael’s curls. And when he tugged at those curls gently, Michael groaned and placed his hands on Gavin’s chest as he pushed him backward, carefully leading him to the bed across from them. Gavin could feel the bed behind him, touching the backs of his knees, and after soothing the area on Michael’s neck that he had started sucking on with a peck, he allowed himself to sit down.

He was going to crawl back onto it to lie down, but Michael was more than content to simply straddle his lap and capture his lips again – rougher this time, though it was nothing Gavin could complain about. He tugged on Michael’s hair once more and smiled against the kiss at the satisfying sound Michael made into his mouth. And for a second, he let himself pretend this was how their life was, with nothing else to worry about, and not having to think their lives were in danger every time they went outside.

He allowed himself to be happy.

 

* * *

 

 

“Going on horseback. Oh, yay,” Ray sarcastically commented as Geoff led two horses toward them.

“Better than walking,” Ryan told him, smiling at Geoff as he took the strap from him. “Go on, Ray.” Ray held back the small whine that was threatening to escape and obliged.

Geoff grinned up at him before turning toward Michael and Gavin. “Take good care of her,” he told them, releasing the second horse’s strap and stepping back to get the boys room to climb on. Gavin flashed Michael a quick worried look and Michael didn’t need to hear the question be asked to know the answer he was about to give.

“I’ll be in the front,” he sighed. Gavin instantly relaxed.

As Michael got up on top, Gavin faced Geoff, a frown gracing his features. Even so, Geoff continued to smile.

“You know there’s always a place here for you guys,” Geoff said. Something tugged at Gavin inside his chest that he couldn’t stop himself from practically leaping forward into Geoff’s arms. And Geoff could no longer keep his smile up as he returned the embrace. “I can’t wait for all of you to be done with this shit so you can come back to see us again.”

Perhaps that was only for Gavin to hear, but Ray had heard it as well as he neglected to listen to what Ryan was explaining to him.

“Got that, Ray?” Ryan then asked. Ray was still staring at Geoff and Gavin, his brows twitching together, and Ryan finally realized he’d been talking to nobody. “Ray?” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers close to Ray’s face. Ray blinked hard.

“Huh, what?” Ray looked at him.

Ryan shook his head. “Just scoot over,” he said as he placed his foot into the stirrup of the saddle.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

Gavin and Geoff pulled apart and looked over to find Griffon walking up, an evidently forced smile planted on her face.

“All set to go?” She asked, glancing back and forth between Michael and Gavin. Michael nodded in response and she reached up to take his hand into hers. “It was so nice to see you again, honey. Be careful, okay?”

“Of course,” he answered, giving her hand a squeeze before she let go.

Geoff stepped aside as Griffon made her to Gavin next. There was something suspicious in the way Griffon was looking at him that had Gavin raising an eyebrow. But then she gently grabbed his face, just as she always used to, and he smiled at her. She pulled him into a hug and as Gavin relaxed into it, she whispered into his ear, “So, you and Michael… finally.” And his eyes went wide.

She must have sensed that, because she was giggling a second later, and adding, “You know not to be surprised, Gavin. I can figure out anything, and I’m happy for you.”

Although she wasn’t related to him by blood, she was still his mother, and even after all of these years, her calling him out about Michael continued to embarrass him. He stepped back from the hug and quickly kissed her on the cheek before hurrying over to the horse and getting on.

“Ready?” Ryan asked Michael.

“Ready,” Michael nodded. Gavin wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and looked over at Geoff and Griffon until they rode off. And though he was tempted, he didn’t look back.

 

 

* * *

 

_November 27, 2024_

“So, you were that asshole jock that everyone at your high school drooled over?” Ray jokingly asked Ryan as they found themselves finally approaching the university Geoff had told them about.

Ryan snorted. “Hardly.”

“Ah, he’s being modest,” Michael teased, riding up next to them.

“Don’t make me regret telling you guys about this,” Ryan begged, though he was smirking.

“I think you should tell us more,” Ray said as he rested his chin on Ryan’s shoulder.

“How does that one saying go? A good story-teller always leaves them wanting more? Yeah, I’ll save the rest of the stories for later.” In unison, Ray and Gavin groaned in disappointment. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced at Gavin. “Well, what about you and Michael? What fascinating things did you two do in high school?”

“Well, I was Michael,” Michael answered, traces of a smile forming.

“And I was Gavin,” Gavin proudly stated, raising his head higher.

“Wow, that’s unfortunate,” Ray blandly said, and Ryan couldn’t resist laughing.

“Ha-ha, fuck off,” Michael shook his head. “What about you, New York?”

“I was the Brownman,” he sounded more proud than Gavin had.

“The _what_? _Brown_ man? Ray, you’re so fucking pale.” Now Gavin was the one laughing and Michael grinned in satisfaction.

“Hey, it was a cool thing back then – shut up,” Ray grumbled. “It was ten years ago.”

“Alright, _Brown_ man.”

They continued on horseback through the first half of the campus, following the signs that pointed in the direction of the science building, and they even past a Firefly symbol on the side of a building that restored a little of their hope. But they eventually had to come to a halt once they reached a downed gate. Ryan hopped off the horse and walked up to the wall where the button to open it was. Pressing it, however, did nothing. No light, no noise… no power.

“Disconnect generator when gate is not in use,” Ray read the words painted on the brick wall next to them. Ryan looked up to read it for himself, and he huffed.

“Hmm, the generator is just up ahead. We can find a way around and plug it back in,” Gavin suggested.

“I’ll go through here,” Ryan pointed toward a small opening in the blocked off door nearby. It was just large enough for him to squeeze through underneath.

“I’ll go with you,” Ray offered, carefully getting himself off the horse as well. Ryan turned to him, raising an eyebrow, but he didn’t have much to argue. A part of him did feel better knowing he wasn’t going alone.

“Okay, Gavin and Michael, we’ll try to hurry,” Ryan said to the other two boys still sitting upon their horse. They nodded in response and watched as Ryan and Ray disappeared into the room.

Gavin took a deep breath and shifted in his seat. Being on a horse for as long as he had been was terror to his bottom, but there were almost there, and he certainly did like this better than walking.

“We should name our horses,” he spoke up, looking over to admire Ray and Ryan’s horse. “Her name should be… mm, Lloyd.”

“Lloyd?” Michael asked, a bit of a laugh escaping him.

“And our horse should be… _Smee_.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Michael opened his mouth to make his explanation, but then he clamped it shut as he glanced at Gavin over his shoulder with a sort of smile that had Gavin unable to resist smiling back. There was just such an amount of affection in those brown eyes of Michael’s.

“I shouldn’t be surprised over your name choices,” Michael finally did speak, his tone softer than it was just a few moments ago. “You once named a stray cat ‘Egg’.”

“I _adored_ Egg. She was lovely.” Michael simply laughed again and Gavin leaned forward until he was nuzzling the side of Michael’s neck.

 

 

* * *

 

Curiosity had led Ray to pick up the lone diary on the floor of the dorm he was currently searching through. He scanned the pages until he reached an entry that was about when everything began. The student wrote about how they were held up inside their dorms, unable to go outside or even think about leaving the campus. They described the military men who would patrol the streets at night and the gunshots that would wake them every morning as the “sick” people tried to get inside. 

“What’s that?” Ryan questioned. Ray forced himself to look up from the page and without saying a word, he handed the diary to him. Ryan quickly read over the entry and sighed.

“Imagine having to go through this when you’re away at school?” Ray mumbled. Ryan frowned as he tossed the book onto the nearest bed.

“I don’t have to imagine that,” he blandly responded. Ray’s brows shot up and he looked about ready to apologize, but Ryan waved him off. “It’s fine. I’m the one who wanted to get back to the campus a week early. Come on, let’s just keep moving.”

Ray followed closely behind as they exited the dorm and back into the hallway. The rest of the dorms were shut tight and they didn’t want to bother breaking inside when they knew Michael and Gavin were out there waiting for them.

“Ah, shit… spores,” Ryan warned, putting his arm to stop Ray from walking any further. Quickly, they reached into their backpacks and pulled out their masks before jumping down into a lower floor – their only option. And they rushed to duck behind the set of chairs as they heard the quiet screeches and clicking sounds around them.

Ray squinted his eyes in an attempt to see through the yellow mist and after a while, he could make out the silhouette near the door, and the one walking past that door in the hall. From the sounds of it, there had to be at least four. Four Clickers against the two of them.

“We can sneak around of them. They don’t see or hear us, we’ll be okay,” Ryan assured him. Ray swallowed the lump forming in his throat, but that definitely had to be the best plan they could muster up in such short time.

“Ready?” Ryan asked, tone hushed.

“Ready,” Ray replied.

Ryan was slow with his steps, his eyes glued to the particular Clicker that was in the same room as them. It twitched every now and so, but it had no idea of their presence. Ray was looking down at his feet, making sure he wouldn’t accidentally step or kick something that would cause any noise. So when he spotted the lone brick near the broken vending machine, he quietly reached for it.

As they made their way out of that room, Ray clutched the brick tightly in his hand, as if it was the only answer to his safety. Ryan stayed up against the wall as he moved into the room across so that they could move around and avoid the Clickers roaming in the hall altogether. Ray idly wondered if any of those Clickers were any of the students from the dorm room letters he’d read, or if any of them happened to be the owner of the diary.

They got to another doorway that led them to the middle of the hallway, and after checking to make sure the Clickers weren’t too close by, Ryan sneaked his way out and headed for the door at the end. Ray practically ran after him and through the mist, he couldn’t see everything he was passing by. His hip ended up bumping into a desk, causing it to skid against the floor, and a screech rang out from behind.

“Shit,” Ryan whispered. Ray turned his head and saw one of the Clickers already making its way toward them, its head twisting.

“No, no… I’m over-” Ray drawled out, throwing his arm back, brick still gripped tightly in his hand, “-there,” he threw his arm forward, releasing the brick. It flew past the Clicker and landed somewhere on the floor.

The noise caught the rest of the Clickers’ attentions, but at least they were fooled to believe Ray and Ryan were in-between them.

“Ray, come on!” Ryan urged. Ray turned back around and ran through the door Ryan had opened far enough to get them both through.

“Oh, man… that was close,” Ray breathed out in relief. They took their masks off and hurried outdoors.

“You guys okay?!” They heard Michael from beyond the gate. Ray held his thumb up at him as he and Ryan made their way down a few steps and up to where the generator lied. Together, they pulled it closer to the gate, and then Ray stood aside as Ryan powered it up. Gavin had gotten off Smee to try the button, and each of them cheered as the gate opened up. They got back on their horses and went forward to the building in the distance, looking like it was mostly made of windows.

Out front were rows of medical tents, completely abandoned and forgotten. It appeared as though no one had been around in a long time.

“Where the hell are the people?” Michael asked.

“They’re probably just inside,” Ryan told him. “The front doors look blocked off from the inside, so we’ll have to find a way in through another way.”

“Okay, well, while we search, how about some jokes?” Ray had asked as if he wanted permission to do so, but he was already taking that book out.

“God damnit, Ray. Put that away,” Michael threatened. It was too late.

Ray cleared his throat. “Do you know what’s not right?” He looked back and forth between Michael and Gavin until Gavin finally shrugged in response. “Left.”

Michael rolled his eyes, but Gavin was actually amused, and he grinned at Ray.

“Ray, you’re using both hands to hold that book; I can make this horse speed up right now and knock you off,” Ryan warned, yet his tone told otherwise. Even so, Ray placed a hand on his shoulder to hold onto him while still being able to hold the book, and Ryan’s lips curled up.

“Your horse’s official name is Lloyd,” Gavin announced, and both Ray and Ryan looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Since when?” They asked simultaneously.

“Ah, since you guys left us alone a little back there,” Michael answered. He gently patted the top of his horse’s head and added, “This is Smee.”

“You know what? I’m not surprised,” Ray admitted and resumed flipping through the pages. “Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.”

“God, that’s an _awful_ one,” Gavin laughed, and Ray couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“I think I see our entrance,” Ryan cut them off, pointing up toward a few broken windows on the side.

“Okay,” Ray nodded. “How are we getting up there?”

Michael moved his gaze downward, inspecting every inch of the area until he spotted their answer. “There’s a truck we can climb up on. We’ll just have to help each other get over the fence.”

They rode their horses up to that fence and jumped off. There was another car nearby that they pushed up against the fence to climb up and over. Getting up onto the truck resulted in teamwork, with Ryan lifting each of them up before they had to pull him up to join them. And once they made their way inside the building, they were baffled by the lack of Fireflies… or rather, just the lack of people in general.

“Hello?” Michael called out, peeking his head out into the hallway. “Fireflies?!” Nothing. He groaned in frustration and stepped out of the room to make his way down the hall, but every classroom he passed was empty. Lonely.

“Stay close,” Ryan told him as he had to rush to catch up with him. Gavin and Ray picked up their own pace as well.

Michael pushed open the double doors at the end, half expecting someone to point a gun at him, but no one did. He sighed. “Come _on_! Cure to humanity here!”

“Michael, relax,” Ray begged. “If Fireflies aren’t here, you don’t know what could be.”

“Ray, we’ve made it this _fucking_ far. There better be some god damn Fireflies around. I’m tired.”

“We all are,” Gavin murmured.

They ended up going through another door that led to a hallway with a glass railing, but they quickly passed through and made their way up the stairs. Not a sound of anything. No Runners, Clickers, nothing. Michael could feel his patience growing thin as they continued passing by empty rooms. There wasn’t even any signs of what the hell could have happened, but there were signs that Fireflies had _definitely_ been there at some point, judging by the few Firefly pendants lying around and the symbols on the walls.

It wasn’t until they reached a lab around the corner that they found a recorder on a counter. Michael snatched it off and pressed ‘play’ while the others gathered around him to listen: “Everyone else has left… but I’m still here. The rest of the Fireflies have given up this location,” the man paused as he sighed, “They’ve all headed to Salt Lake City. There’s more _opportunity_ there,” again, the man paused, but only to chuckle deviously. “I’m going to die, that’s why I stayed here. Years and years of research, years and _years_ of trying to find out a fucking cure… and it ends with me dying from the one thing I was trying to prevent. I can’t help but feel it was all a waste. Maybe they’re all wasting their time still trying. If you’re listening to this, I hope you haven’t put too much of your faith into the Fireflies, but if you have, at least you’re still alive.

But since you’re listening… why don’t you ask yourself this: what’s really worth everything you’re doing right now?” Ray and Ryan raised their eyebrows at that, Gavin blinked and turned his head to look at Michael, and Michael merely stared at the recorder as he listened, his expression blank. “I should have asked myself that before I agreed to help. Maybe then, I would still have a chance,” there was another laugh and the recording ended.

“Oh, great,” Ray spoke up. “Great. They’re not here. None of them are here anymore.”

“Well, you did hear that the Fireflies left to Salt Lake City,” Ryan reminded him.

“Salt Lake City,” Ray scoffed. “That’s in Utah. Are we really heading out that far? _Really_?” Neither Gavin nor Michael responded. Ray shook his head, taking a step back. “I can’t believe this.”

“Ray-”

“No, Ryan, don’t argue with me. We tried! What if we do get to Salt Lake City and the _same_ thing happens there?!”

“It’s worth a shot.”

“ _Is_ it?! This isn’t our problem! This is _Michael’s_.”

Ryan pursed his lips as he stared hard at Ray and Michael could tell he was getting close to agreeing with Ray. But just as he was about to voice his say in the situation, Gavin slapped his arm with the back of his hand. Michael spun around to glare at him.

“Gavin, what the fu-”

“ _Look_ ,” Gavin interrupted, nodding toward the window. Michael, Ryan, and Ray looked out to see the flashlights moving around from a floor below them.

“Who the hell are they?” Ray asked, though his question was answered when a flashlight shun in their direction and a gunshot followed. The window shattered, but the bullet flew right past his ear. With a gasp, he got down, and his friends quickly followed his action.

“Hunters,” Ryan groaned.

“What the _fuck_ do we _do_?” Michael sounded exasperated, his hands curling into fists.

“Fight our way through.”

“ _What_?”

“Come on!” Ryan made his way out of the lab first. Ray went second and Gavin was third. Michael hesitated, frantically looking around, but they really had no other way out but through the way they entered. He reached back and pulled out his pistol before finally moving out.

He almost didn’t expect to have to use his gun as quickly as he did, but a few of the hunters left them no choice. As soon as they had walked out of that lab, they were being shot at. They barely managed to hide behind a few tables and prepare themselves to aim and shoot back.

Gavin and Michael remained close to each other and locked on a particular man ducked behind a few filing cabinets. Gavin peeked up to keep an eye on the man and when that man also peeked out to see where they were, Gavin gave Michael the signal and Michael reached up and took his shot. The man went down and the other was momentarily startled by the death of his friend to notice Ryan reloading his rifle and aiming directly at his head.

Two down, and they weren’t sure how many were left to go.

“THEY’RE OVER HERE!” One of them from downstairs called.

“Come on,” Ryan whispered before running into the nearest classroom. Once Ray, Michael, and Gavin were by his side, he turned his head to face them. “We’re going to wait until they’re down the hallway, and then we’re going to run for it – down the stairs and out those windows we came from. Understood?” They all nodded. “We’ll hop on our horses and get the fuck away from this campus.”

With that, they waited, and listened carefully to thundering footsteps passing by them on the other side of the wall.

“Fuck, two men down!” One of the hunters informed his friends.

“Where the fuck are these assholes?!” Another asked.

“Spread out! We’ll find them faster that way.”

Ryan began making his move into the next classroom. He could see the door they needed to exit from to reach the staircase and since it seemed each of the men were far enough away, he confidently moved faster. The lads did, too, but each of them neglected to think that one of the Hunters would stay as a look out in front of the stairs. Ryan had seen the man first, but the man turned his head in time before Ryan could warn his friends.

“Holy shit!” The hunter growled, raising his own rifle. “I SEE THEM!”

“No, you don’t,” Michael responded and when the man’s eyes were on him, he tossed an empty can at his head. Ryan took advantage of this by jumping to his feet and using the end of his rifle to knock the man over. He looked at his friends over his shoulder and shouted, “Run!” before doing so himself.

They each took off after, ducking left and right as gunshots went off behind them. At the bottom of the staircase, Ryan halted in his tracks and pushed the three of them forward, though he didn’t stay behind; he continued running with them after making sure none of them had been hit.

Gavin was in the lead now, but he was stopped by another hunter as he rounded the corner into the hallway with the glass railing. The hunter was near the next door and immediately fired at him without any hesitation. Gavin ducked down and Ray took his shot, getting the man in the arm. Ray would have shot at him again, but he heard Ryan groan painfully from behind, and he turned to see Ryan fighting off another man attempting to strangle him.

“I gotta help him!” Ray cried, running back in there. Michael pushed Gavin forward.

“This guy’s shot, we can handle him.”

Gavin nodded and they ran over to where the hunter Ray had shot was bending over. The man was grunting as he clutched his arm.

“You assholes,” he growled, looking up at them right before Gavin lifted his leg high enough to kick him down. Gavin wasn’t done yet, though. He brought his pistol up and finished him off with one last shot to the head.

Ray and Ryan were backing away from the staircase again, and once they had reached the hallway, they could see the rest of the hunters making their way down the steps.

“Gavin, the door!” Ryan shouted over his shoulder, though he resumed his firing at the men still going after them in hopes of slowing them down, if not completely killing them.

Gavin turned around and jumped over the dead body to reach the door – their exit out of this useless fight. Michael followed suit and watched as the door was kicked open before Gavin even had a chance at grabbing the doorknob. Gavin stumbled backward a little and Michael prepared to launch himself at the asshole who had barged in. Neither of them expected the man to be as quick as he was; he knew what Michael was planning and immediately went to push him aside first, slamming him into the wall before turning and charging at Gavin.

Gavin went right to grabbing at his neck. As he attempted to strangle him, the man attempted to throw him over the glass railing. Gavin could feel himself being lifted up and over, but he held his ground to his best ability, and more importantly – he tightened his grip on the man’s neck. Michael practically jumped onto the man’s back to get him away from Gavin, but the hunter must have thought he had the best idea in mind when he abruptly leaned forward to flip Michael over and off of him. All he succeeded in doing was pressing Gavin further into the glass railing and ultimately causing it to crack and break underneath their combined weight.

Gavin fell through first, but he took the man with him, and because of Michael still being on his back, the man took Michael. Landing harshly on his back from that height felt as if someone had completely knocked the air out of him. Every possible feeling Gavin could possibly have in his back went numb for a moment, but… he was alive. He was actually alive. He turned his head and saw the man was trying to regain himself from the impact of the fall as well, and he seemed to be getting up much faster than Gavin was. But he was still not faster than Michael.

Michael was already on his knees and he didn’t waste another second on reaching over and thrusting his knife into the man’s skull. Gavin widened his eyes as he watched Michael yank his knife free and the man fall forward, dead as can be. He and Michael looked at each other, then, and Michael breathed out a laugh – almost a sigh of relief. Gavin couldn’t resist giving him a small smile as he finally started to pick himself up off the ground.

But a pair of other hunters broke their way in through the doors downstairs, right near where they were. Michael whipped his head around to see them and Gavin noticed how they raised their guns at Michael. There was not a second thought that crossed Gavin’s mind as he ignored the weakness and exhaustion creeping up on him and jumped up. The guns were then turned on him and Gavin raised his hands up in defense. There was about a few things he could do: beg for his life, try to compromise, or stand still and allow everything to happen.

The last option was the easiest to accomplish, since he was rendered speechless by this situation and running would do him no good either.

The two hunters stepped forward a little and took their shots. At first, it didn’t hurt, but maybe the adrenaline pumping through him had a bit to do with that. And then, when it really dawned on him what just occurred, it burned and throbbed within his ribs so much that his mouth fell open like he was about to cry out. A part of him wanted to fall onto the ground and curl up to himself, but Michael was there seconds later and holding him up. And then all Gavin wanted to do was curl into him. He heard more gunshots and saw the two go down in an instant with bleeding wounds on their foreheads. He didn’t even have to look to know those shots had come from Ray and Ryan who were still up above.

“Holy shit, Gavin,” he heard Ray, followed by the thumps of feet landing on ground nearby from him jumping down. He was at Gavin’s side seconds later, holding onto him just like Michael.

Gavin kept hearing a ringing in his ears and though he could hear Ray and Michael talking to him, they seemed so far away.

“Gav… Gavvy?” A hand was placed on his cheek and he blinked hard before turning his head to lock eyes with Michael. Of all the years he had known Michael, he never recalled seeing such a look on his face – one of utter devastation and terror. His eyes were also rapidly watering. “Keep your eyes open, okay?” Gavin nodded once and then he was being lifted up entirely into Michael’s arms.

Gavin clutched onto him, his fists balling up the front of his shirt, and he let out a small whimper at the pain shooting throughout him. If it weren’t for the growing blood stain on his left side, he probably wouldn’t be able to pinpoint where exactly that pain was coming from. He tried taking a deep breath, but it was hardly anything but shaky gasps. Michael was running now and from the sounds of it, Ray and Ryan were leading the way out up ahead. Occasionally, Gavin would hear a harsh voice he didn’t recognize, and whoever it was would be cut off by either Ray or Ryan shooting them dead.

“You still with me, Gav?” Michael asked as they ran into a new classroom. Gavin didn’t verbally respond. He did, however, press his head underneath Michael’s chin and inhaled another shallow breath. “What are we supposed to do?” The question wasn’t for him this time, he was sure of that.

“Shh, shh, get down,” Ryan hissed, waving his hand. Michael obliged, crouching down behind him and Ray.

Through the window that revealed a view into the lab next door, they saw another hunter making his way further into the room. With his rifle up, he carefully aimed at every inch of the room, hoping to find them.

“Where the _fuck_ are you, cowards?” He growled.

Ryan quickly glanced over his shoulder and frowned to see how Gavin was struggling to keep his breathing steady and his eyes open. But if it weren’t for the evident sign that he was bleeding out, he would have honestly looked so secure and comfortable in Michael’s arms. He was weakly clinging onto Michael like Michael was his source of life.

“I’m not going to wait around. Come the fuck out here,” the hunter demanded, his footsteps approaching closer to where the four of them were hiding behind the open door.

“You’re going to make it,” Ryan whispered to Gavin, “We’re getting out of here and we’ll do our best to patch you up. You’re going to be okay.” Gavin’s eyebrows squeezed together. He wanted to believe those words, but with the knowledge that at least one bullet was lodged somewhere within his ribs, it seemed impossible.

“Gavin, speak to me,” Ryan urged. Gavin swallowed thickly.

“We’re getting out of here,” he hardly whispered back. At that, the corners of Ryan’s lips rose, satisfied with the response, and he stood. For a moment, Gavin wasn’t sure what Ryan was going to do until the hunter stepped through the threshold and Ryan was replacing his shotgun for his axe.

“Shit!” The hunter managed to shout before the axe made contact with his neck. It was one rough swipe across the man’s neck that left Ryan standing above a headless body, the hand clutching the axe down by his side while his other messily wiped away the blood that didn’t belong to him.

“I think I got some of him on me, too,” Ray commented, pulling on the parts of his own jacket that now had fresh blood marks.

Ryan turned toward Michael and Gavin and nodded toward the lab. “Through here and then through the hallway. We should be near the entrance after that. Come on!” Michael nodded as he stood slowly, for Gavin’s sake, but he resumed his running. Ray remained on his tail and kept a look out in case some other son-of-a-bitch wanted to sneak up on them.

Down the hallway, Ryan kicked open the door and he cautiously stepped out onto the main lobby. From staring ahead, he didn’t notice the person who was standing by the door until that person was running up to him and punching him from the side of his face. The impact from the surprise hit had Ryan tumbling sideways and unable to catch his balance.

Ray rushed past Michael and tackled Ryan’s assaulter down in time to stop him from his second punch attack.

“There they are!” More furious voices shouted. Michael glanced up at the staircase and groaned. How many of these guys were there? Well, there were three more coming for them, excluding the one Ray was repeatedly stabbing.

“You motherfuckers are going to pay!” One of the three hunters threatened as he hopped off the staircase halfway down. Ray finished off Ryan’s assaulter and reached under his clothes for his pistol. Momentarily dropping his knife, he tried firing at the three men. It was clear Ray was letting his panic ruin his aim, because the hunters were easily dodging each bullet.

Another hunter made his way off the steps and toward Ryan.

“Oh, fuck,” Michael gasped, walking backward until he was standing in the hallway again. He looked down at Gavin in his arms and pursed his lips. Ray and Ryan never had great trouble with being outnumbered, but this time was different. The hunters were gaining up on them much too quickly.

Gently, Michael set Gavin down against the wall, ignoring the way Gavin looked at him with wide eyes. “Wait here, okay? I have to help them,” Michael hurried away without another word.

“No…” Gavin breathed. He began to push himself up, clutching a hand to his side and putting his other on the wall to use it as support. He grunted and resisted the urge to cry out at the sharp throbs that made him feel as if his ribs were ready to shatter. Once he was steady on his feet, however, he sighed deeply and removed his hand from his blood-soaked hoodie. He reached back into his backpack, having to bite down hard on his lower lip to prevent a scream, and pulled out his revolver. Pulling his arm forward, he let go of the wall and switched the gun to his right hand before clutching his wound once more.

Walking didn’t prove to be as much of a challenge as he feared, but he was certainly moving slow and stumbling every time pain shot through him. Ray had crawled behind a knocked over sofa as he attempted to properly shoot down a hunter who was also hidden behind a sofa. Michael had his arms wrapped around a second hunter’s neck, strangling him. What startled Gavin, though, was Ryan.

Ryan appeared to have been hit one too many times, his face practically a mangled mess. He wanted to get up, but the third hunter was firing in his direction. Luckily, that third hunter hadn’t see Gavin yet. Despite his need to fall over and shut his eyes, Gavin raised the revolver, but he found his vision was blurring; the hunter almost looked like two men merging together. It was making Gavin’s head spin, because he wasn’t sure what to shoot, so he made a guess.

The man fell backward as the bullet struck his eye and Gavin dropped his arms, slouching over slightly, but the relief that washed over him was what held him up. Michael gave the hunter he’d been strangling one last squeeze before he knew it was over, and he let go. There was a choked groan from the corner as Ray finally made his successful shot.

“Fucker,” Ray hissed.

Michael spun around and gaped at the sight of Gavin standing there. He hurried back to his side and Gavin leaned onto him. Ray jumped up from his hiding spot and ran over to Ryan, but now that no one was shooting at him, Ryan had little trouble standing up.

“Oh, man,” Ray mouthed, carefully inspecting the bruise forming around Ryan’s right eye and the small cuts on his lower lip.

“I’m fine,” Ryan assured him. Ray nodded. That _could_ have ended worse than it had. The two ran to the front doors and started moving the tables and chairs blocking the way.

“Can you walk?” Michael asked Gavin.

“Yes,” Gavin weakly answered.

“Okay, put your arm around me… just in case.” Gavin did as he was told and they both walked up to the door just as Ryan was opening it.

Ray ran out first and immediately skidded to halt when he came face-to-face with another hunter outside. This one was attempting to steal their horses, but he was startled by their sudden appearance that he dropped the straps and tried to reach for his gun. Ray rolled his eyes and fired his gun once at the man’s forehead before waving his friends over. Ryan kicked the body aside, moving it further away from his and Ray’s mare, and then he climbed onto her.

“Need help getting Gavin on your horse?” Ray asked Michael as he and Gavin made their way toward their stallion. Gavin shook his head.

“No, I can get on by myself,” he breathed, putting his arm down from around Michael’s shoulders. Michael stood nearby and watched Gavin carefully place one foot in the stirrup before swinging his other leg over to situate himself on top. He scooted back, making enough room for Michael to ride up front.

Michael hurried on up and he bit down on his lower lip to ignore the ache that increased when Gavin limply pressed against him. He nodded once at Ryan to let him know he was ready, and Ryan took off first. Michael followed a second after.

Gavin focused on everything else around him – the frigid evening air smacking against his face, his hair blowing wildly with the speed they were riding at, and the hooves thundering on the road below them. Anytime his mind would try stirring in the direction of “I won’t stop bleeding and it’s starting to get painfully sore”, he would bury his face in Michael’s neck and concentrated on Michael’s pulse, because it somehow worked to calm him down.  

“Okay, if there were any more of them around, I think we lost them,” that was definitely Ryan who was talking, but he didn’t want to try to look over at him. The horses started to slow down and because of that, he eventually lifted his head to see everything around him.

The world spun for him in that moment and the overwhelming need to close his eyes and lie down came over him. Before he could attempt to hold himself up, he fell over – off the horse and onto the gravel road.

“ _Gavin_!” Michael cried, jumping off to get down on his knees next to him. He gently rolled Gavin over onto his back and furiously pulled up Gavin’s shirt to get a better look at the wound. The hole wasn’t as big as he feared it would be, but the amount of blood that was coming out of it was what alarmed Michael the most. “Oh, my god,” he breathed out shakily.

Ray and Ryan were off their horse seconds later and Ray ran right over to get down by Gavin’s side as well. He tentatively brought a hand up to brush over the wound and repeatedly apologized when he heard Gavin hiss through his teeth. But then when Gavin made no other noise, Michael tensed.

“… Gav?” He tried.

“Oh, shit,” Ray said under his breath before pressing his head against Gavin’s chest. It was there, faintly, but the heartbeat was there. And when he informed Michael of that, Michael shook his head, eyes widening as they watered.

Michael reached up and grabbed Gavin’s face, angrily screaming at him to open his fucking eyes and look at him. Gavin, of course, didn’t respond. With a quivering lower lip, Michael blinked back the persistent tears. “Please…” he started, shaking his head, “ _please_ , no! Don’t do this to me! You can’t leave me!”

Ray watched as a tear managed to make its way down Michael’s cheek and he almost reached out to wipe it away, but Michael turned his head to look up at Ryan.

“W-we have to help him… WE HAVE TO _HELP_ HIM!” The last word came out choked as Michael shut his eyes and gave in. “We… have to do… something,” he was barely able to speak.

But while Ryan paced back and forth, trying to figure out what their best option was, Ray put his head back down on Gavin’s chest to make sure that heartbeat never stopped.


	4. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not in the actual tags, but I'll put it here: warnings of animal death and implied cannibalism.

_Winter_

“Boom! Right in the side of its head!” Ray said triumphantly as he and Michael watched the rabbit fall over dead, arrow still lodged into its head. Michael lowered the bow, a smirk forming on his face. “You and me, Michael, we’re getting better and better at using this thing every day.”

Michael walked over to the rabbit and snatched it off the small, snowy hill by the arrow. He then took it by the ears as he pulled the arrow free and placed it back with the arrows on his back quiver. He carefully tied the rabbit to Smee while Ray kept a look out.

“One rabbit isn’t enough for the four of us,” Michael told him, patting Smee on the forehead after he was sure the rabbit was secured. Ray opened his mouth to respond until he saw movement from his peripheral vision. He whipped his head to the right and sucked in harshly to find a deer walking by, not too far from where they stood.

Michael was cupping his hands to blow his warm breath into them as he spoke, “I really fucking hate snow, sometimes.” His whole face was numb from the frosty air brushing against his skin. He was sure the tip of his nose and ears were as red as the rabbit’s blood.

“Give me the bow,” he heard Ray whisper, a demand that wasn’t to be denied. Raising his eyebrow questioningly, Michael gave it to him without hesitation, along with the quiver. Ray didn’t look at him as he took it; his eyes were glued to his prey.

“What the fu-” Michael was cut off by Ray raising a finger up at him.

“Like you said, one rabbit isn’t enough,” he gestured toward the deer. Michael blinked and looked over, and he saw it, too.

“Oh… shit. That’ll last us.”

“Yeah, it will. I’m going for it. You go on back home, get yourself warm again. I’ll be there before sundown.”

“What, are you sure?”

“Michael, there’s only one bow and I think it’s better if that deer doesn’t hear too much noise.”

Michael pursed his lips. The plan was for them to hunt for food _together_ and return _together_. Why the hell was Ray wanting to go alone now? Michael was going to protest again, except that Ray shot him a sort of glare that made him sigh deeply. It wasn’t worth arguing over. Ray knew how to handle himself, anyway.

“Okay, I’m leaving Smee with you. I saw signs for a town a few miles back. I think I’ll go check it out first,” Michael told him.

“Well, be careful.”

“You, too.”

With that, Ray attached an arrow to the bow and took his first shot, immediately striking the deer on its back. He grinned crookedly and crouched before making his way in the direction it ran off into. Michael snorted, shaking his head. He then looked at Smee once more to say, “If anything happens to him, you better help.” The horse didn’t give any sort of response, and so Michael quickly headed on his own way.

The worst place to be during a harsh winter was near mountains, but they had stumbled upon the lakeside resort and decided it was better than anything else they had seen on the way there. Aside from its brutal weather conditions, Michael couldn’t deny how breathtaking the white snow looked from afar, covering miles and miles of ground. But actually walking through it was hell and he was already looking forward to spring – or at least getting to a warmer state.

The layers of clothing he had on barely made a difference. He tugged on the grey beanie on his head for it to cover his ears better, and he sighed. Having a pair of winter gloves and a scarf as well would have been nice, but his black bomber jacket over three different shirts (a red and blue flannel, grey long sleeved shirt, and a white t-shirt underneath that) would have to do. He had no choice but to stick with his old, worn out blue jeans, but at least he got to change into sturdier boots. Ryan had been lucky when he found a long black coat. Although Ray was kind of in the same situation as Michael (having to wear simple jackets, such as his denim one), even _he_ looked warmer since he had a sweater underneath.

“Okay, Michael. Just… fucking deal with it,” he quietly told himself as he continued his walk down the trail where he remembered he first saw the sign. As the sounds of strange voices came to his ears, Michael immediately ducked behind the nearest tree. It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but it would have to do at the moment.

“Where did you get all of this?” One asked his friend as they made their way back down in the direction Michael had just come from. Michael shifted himself to slowly go around the tree as they drew closer.

“Found it on some woman’s dead body. Figured she wasn’t getting anymore use out of it. Besides, having more medicine is nice,” the friend responded, but the only word Michael actually heard was “medicine”. His eyebrows rose as he scanned the two up and down from where he hid.

“Hey,” the first guy held his arm out to stop his friend. “You see these?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Footprints. I don’t think any of our people have been out here yet.”

Michael swallowed thickly and started moving backward to increase his distance between them, but he forgot he was right in front of a small shrub. He moved right into it and mentally cursed at the ruffling sounds it made.

“What the fuck was that?” He heard one of them ask before he saw that one heading toward him to see for himself.

Michael frantically looked around, but anywhere he could try to go would draw their attention either way. He was stuck. “God damnit,” he murmured, hand reaching back, underneath his jacket, and then he jumped to his feet. The two men gasped and took a step back, startled for a moment, but as soon as they regained themselves, they were aiming back at Michael with their own guns.

“Where the fuck did you come from?!” The second man asked, his clutch on his gun tight enough to make his knuckles white. Michael began to grit and bare his teeth at them, but then his face entirely softened, and his shoulders slumped.

“Hey, listen… I don’t mean any harm, I promise. I just heard that you two have medicine.”

“So?”

“I need it.”

The man snickered. “And I give a fuck?”

Michael pouted slightly, “You don’t get it. It’s not for me. I… I have a group – a lot of… kids… are hurt and sick. They sent me to get something for them. Please, I’m not asking for anything else. Just that. I’ll leave you alone.”

“We got a group and there’s kids there, too. We got our own people to take care of. We’re not going to feel sorry for you.”

“Yeah, besides, you’re still pointing that gun at us,” the first, older man added. Michael wet his dry lips as he thought of the next thing to say.

“I don’t plan on using it,” he started, “but I will if I need to,” he then narrowed his eyes. The two men stiffened and Michael was ready to crack a devious smile at them, but they were interrupted by distant grunts and screeches. Michael quickly turned his head in the direction of the sounds.

“Oh, shit… infected,” one of the men gasped. He and his friend took off, and Michael only hesitated a short moment before going with them.

“I hope you plan on using that gun now!” The older one called back to him.

Michael rolled his eyes. “I did say I would if I need to!” He glanced over his shoulder and saw a few Runners coming into his view. He picked up his pace behind the two hunters and the three of them ran into the nearest cabin. The windows were partly boarded up, though it wasn’t anything the Runners couldn’t get through with a little effort.

“We’re going to have to take them out before they can get inside,” the older man said.

“What, are you fucking kidding me, George? Let’s just find another way out,” his friend replied. _George_ merely huffed, glaring at him before turning his attention to Michael.

“Since we’re in this together, I’m George and that’s Larry. What do we call you?”

“Yeah, I didn’t fucking ask for your names, so I’m not telling you anything,” Michael bitterly said as he made his way up to one of the windows. “I’ll cover this area.” Between the gaps in the wood planks, Michael aimed his gun at the first few infected heading their way. “They’re here.”

George hurried to prepare himself over by the window on the right while Larry ran for the kitchen to check the back of the cabin for any that tried sneaking up.

“I hope you know how to deal with this many,” George said to Michael.

Michael’s eyes flickered down to his left forehead for a second. “You don’t have to worry about me,” he answered. He then took a deep breath and fired his first shot.

 

* * *

 

The deer held up a good fight, Ray would admit, but after three hits, it finally went down. Ray was hurrying on his way toward it, sliding the small hills to avoid falling over completely. And as he approached the deer lying dead up ahead, he saw a small group of people approaching it. Ray furrowed his eyebrows, but he quickly crouched down and reached back for an arrow. Considering they hadn’t seen or heard him yet, he could easily take them out and retrieve his original prize.

The three people were standing over the deer, inspecting it carefully. Ray attached the arrow to the bow and started pulling his arm back when he heard a snap come from his right. He barely turned his head in time to see someone standing there before he was knocked out.

“Hey!” The hunter called out to the other three people as he stared down at Ray, face planted into the snow. “I got him.” And he reached down to pick him up.

 

* * *

 

Michael desperately stretched his free arm out to reach for the lone glass bottle nearby while he used his other arm to hold back the Runner by the neck. George and Larry were too occupied with taking out the few Clickers that had managed to break their way inside to even notice Michael’s struggle. Michael clenched his teeth as he stretched out a little more. He could feel the bottle against the tips of his fingers, and therefore, he scooted up as best as he could with an infected still furiously trying to bite at him.

When he was able to grab hold of the bottle, Michael sighed in relief and slammed it onto the side of the Runner’s face. It was enough to knock the infected off of him, but not enough to kill him completely. Michael took care of that by getting to his feet and yanking the Runner up. The Runner attempted to bite at him once more, but Michael wrinkled up his nose and grabbed a handful of its hair. He used the hold to smash its head right into the wall… one… two… three times, and the Runner’s skull was cracked far enough into to render it lifeless. Michael released its hair and watched it fall by his feet.

He heard another sigh of relief and turned around to find George and Larry were also done with their challenges. The cabin they stood in was now littered in bodies – Clickers and Runners, and even one Stalker that was almost successful in its sneaking, and there was also utter silence.

No infected.

“Holy shit… did we just… we did it,” Larry announced, breathing out a laugh. George and Michael looked at each other then.

“I think we owe you, for helping us out here,” George told him. Michael nodded. “That medicine. We have more back at our place. You follow us and we’ll give it to you.”

“No thanks. Just give me whatever you have on you right now.”

“Oh, come on. You said there’s a lot of people in need. What we have won’t be enough. Well,” he tapped his chin, “Maybe for one _very_ harmed person, but… it’s more than one, right?”

Michael swallowed hard, though he didn’t waver as he said, “Fine, let’s go.” He walked over to the door first, looking down at each body he stepped over, so he missed the way Larry squinted his eyes at George and how George smirked.

The three of them made their way outside and Michael practically hugged himself. Being inside that cabin hadn’t been any better, but he could feel the breeze a lot more out there.

“So, where do you come from?” George casually asked Michael as they walked together.

“Originally or lately?”

“Both.”

“Jersey, then Texas, and then… Massachusetts.”

“Hmm, and somehow you found your way all the way over here? What made your group want to travel this far?”

“Uh, we heard of opportunities over here.”

“Ah, yeah. It’s great here, you know… when it’s not winter,” George laughed, though Michael merely blinked at him. “You should see it here in the spring. It’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah… I bet it is, but we don’t plan on staying here longer than a few days.”

“Just going to heal those people and leave?”

Michael scoffed as he slowed down in his steps. George and Larry did as well when they noticed he had stopped.

“Why the fuck are you asking me so many questions?” Michael asked, not even attempting to hold back the bitterness in his tone.

“What, can’t be friendly with each other?”

“I think you and I both know better.”

This made the corners of George’s lips rise. “You have a good eye for things, don’t you?” Michael curled one hand into a tight fist. George, however, went on, “Hey, since you do, tell me…” he took a step closer to Michael, “You haven’t happened to run into a group of four men on horseback lately, have you?” Michael blinked, but other than that, he didn’t want to give an actual reaction. “A tall man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, a shorter one with dark hair and glasses – oh, I think there’s also one who’s _British_. But I know, for certain, there is one with the _cutest_ freckles and curly hair.”

Although he still didn’t want to react, the way George was staring at him made him all too uncomfortable not to, and left him with little choice. Michael immediately reached back for his gun and aimed it at George while Larry raised his own at Michael.

“Easy now, the both of you,” George said, putting his hands up. “Larry, put the gun down.”

“No fucking way,” Larry shook his head, “You didn’t tell me he was one of the guys from the university. I’m not letting him go now. You aren’t forgetting how many of our people he killed.”

“I know, but listen to me, and _put your gun down_ ,” the tone George used sparked something in Larry to force him to obey. But even though Larry had lowered his weapon, Michael continued to focus on George. George’s smile was back as he held out his hand toward Larry and Larry tentatively took out the small bag from his back pocket and placed it in George’s hand. George then handed it to Michael.

“Go on, take it, and make sure to send my condolences to that British boy.”

Michael was hesitate as he reached out and snatched the bag from George’s hand.

“You know, you don’t have to waste your time traveling around with those three. We have plenty of food,” George told him, his hazel eyes seeming to darken, “I can take good care of you.” Michael shook his head, disgust beginning to grace his features, and he rushed past Larry as he took off, away from them.  

He already despised running to begin with, but having to run when the weather was as brutal as it was, his hatred increased. But he ran anyway, the knowledge of who he was running to encouraging him to push forward. And when he reached the familiar house down the hill, he rushed inside, and was met with a startled Ryan jumping to his feet.

“Where’s Ray?” Ryan asked, and perhaps it was because of the way Michael had barged in, because Ryan had never sounded so concerned to him before.

“Uh… um, he… went deer hunting,” Michael breathed out. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, slightly unconvinced it seemed, though it was the truth. To not worry him any further, when there wasn’t any need, Michael softened his expression and slumped his shoulders a little, relaxing himself.

“Oh. Okay,” Ryan responded.

 Michael licked his lips and closed the door behind him. “How is he?” He then asked, his voice calmer as well.

Ryan’s eyebrows rose. “Sleeping,” he answered. “Much like he’s been doing all day.” Michael frowned at that, but he headed on his way toward a particular bedroom.

Upon entering it, he gasped to see the way Gavin lied, every part of him trembling.

“Oh, Gav,” Michael sighed, rushing forward, and falling to his knees once he was at the side of the bed. “Hey, babe. I-I got something for you, to make you feel better, okay?” He reached into his pocket and took the small bag out. “I’m going to have to inject it in you, so work with me.” Michael situated himself on the bed and took the bottle of penicillin, along with the injection needle.  

Gavin was slowly coming back into consciousness as Michael started to lift his shirt up, exposing his nearly healed wound. It had been stitched up, but it was clearly no wonderful job, if the purple coloring of Gavin’s skin around it was any indication. Michael prepared the needle and almost considered asking Ryan to do this instead of him. Then he figured Ryan had done enough already. Gavin hardly comprehended what exactly was going on, but he knew Michael was there, and that was the only comfort he needed as the needle started to carefully pierce into his side.

“Okay, I’m done,” Michael whispered to him, taking the needle out and setting it and the medicine bottle on the nightstand. It was then that Gavin began to cough, wet and loudly, and Michael’s eyes widened in concern. He placed a hand on Gavin’s forehead and cursed under his breath. “You’re pretty warm, Gav.” Putting his hand down, he scanned the room until he found Gavin’s water bottle resting at the foot of the bed.

Michael reached over and grabbed it, thankful it still had some water left in it. It took effort, but once he had gotten Gavin to sit up a little, he was able to stick the mouth part of the bottle between Gavin’s chapped lips and tip the bottle up slightly. Gavin could feel the water dripping into his mouth, but it wasn’t until Michael told him to swallow that he obliged as best as he could. He didn’t end up drinking much, but it was better than nothing.

“Okay, I’ll give you more later,” Michael assured him, setting the bottle down next to the medicine. Gavin continued to shiver, his teeth chattering loudly. Michael lied him back down before lying down along with him. He then proceeded to wrapping his arms around Gavin’s waist and pulled him up against him, holding him close.

“It’s okay, Gavvy. I’ve got you,” Michael whispered into his hair. Gavin coughed a bit more before allowing the darkness to consume him for the fifth time that day.

 

* * *

 

The sun had been down for hours now and Ray still hadn’t returned. Ryan wasn’t in any panic about it, though. There had been times where he took a day to get back to the lads, so perhaps Ray had merely gotten himself sidetracked and would surely be back by morning. Even so, Ryan decided to wait for him in the living room. He had started a fire in the fireplace and stood in front of it, warming his hands and ignoring the way the wind whistled outside.

After they had left the university, the four of them made their way to a nearby mall. And while Ray and Ryan went out to search for anything they could use to take the bullet out and stitch the wound shut, Michael remained with the horses and Gavin inside an old toy store. Neither of them had dealt with a gunshot wound such as Gavin’s before, so they weren’t quite sure what they were meant to do. Ryan had only been shot in the arm once before, and he had someone else do the work for him that time. But he was determined to use his memory of what the person had done to him to help Gavin. Although, removing a bullet that was lodged in someone’s side was going to require more care and patience, and Ryan was trying not to feel nervous about it.

As they made their way back – string, needle, a handful of cloths, and tweezers in their backpacks, Ray hugged himself tightly. The mall was just as bitter as it was outside, but he assumed it had to with the snow beginning to fall around them from the cracked windows above. There was no possible warmth in or out. Just another thing to add to his growing discomfort.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he confessed, the prolonged silence between him and Ryan weighing over him.  

“Don’t,” Ryan told him.

“We don’t know what the hell we’re doing. We could… we could end up hurting him more.”

“We’ll do our best.”

Ray stopped walking at that, the disgraceful doubt taking over him, and Ryan’s uncertain tone wasn’t helping. Ryan could see the toy store in the distance, but he also noticed how Ray wasn’t right behind him anymore, so he turned around to look at him.

“Gavin’s my friend, Ryan… my _really_ good friend,” Ray reminded him.

“I know,” Ryan nodded.

“Then stop treating this like it’s not a big deal.”

“I’m _not_.”

“Oh, really, you aren’t? Because the way you’re sounding makes you seem like you don’t give a _shit_ -” Ray instantly cut himself off there, realizing how much the volume in his voice was rising. Ryan was staring at him with furrowed eyebrows, but it wasn’t long until he was averting his eyes and sighing.

“This is a big deal, and I _am_ worried about Gavin,” he started, “We are going to do our best to help him. We’ll do anything it takes. You’ll see…” there was a pause, but Ray remained quiet anyway. And then Ryan was taking a step toward him, a newfound confidence washing over his face, “In the end, it’ll all be okay.”

Even if he still wasn’t thoroughly convinced, Ray nodded and closed the distance between them before he cupped Ryan’s face. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he practically mouthed. Ryan gently grabbed Ray’s wrists and whispered, “Me too.” And though they didn’t have any time to waste, he leaned his head forward and placed a quick kiss upon Ray’s forehead.

And now here they were, in Silver Lake, Colorado, hiding out in a freezing house while Gavin continued his healing. He wasn’t complaining or anything. This wasn’t something Gavin could predict or that he could exactly prevent. These things just happened, and the best thing they could do was get through it.

After his hands felt tingly with the warmth returning to them, Ryan moved away from the fireplace and got himself comfortable on the couch. He rubbed his face before putting his head back on the couch’s armrest and closing his eyes, the thoughts of waking up to Ray sitting across from him with that crooked smile of his luring him to sleep.

That wasn’t what he woke to, though. In fact, he didn’t wake to anything, but the same scene from the night before. The fire was out and he found himself wrapping his coat tighter around him as he stood to search for Ray in one of the bedrooms. The first two were empty, no one had even _touched_ the beds. The third room was where Michael and Gavin were lying, huddled up together in the coziest position. Ryan almost felt bad interrupting them, but Michael was the only one who could have an idea of where Ray could have gone.

He walked over to the side of the bed and gently shook Michael until the lad stirred, groaned, and opened an eye to peek up at him. Ryan offered him an apologetic smile, but it quickly faltered as he said, “Ray’s still not here.”

“What?” Michael breathed, both eyes opening wide.

“Are you sure he just said he was going deer hunting?”

“Well… yeah. He went after one he saw when we were still together. He then told me to leave and that he would back here before sundown.”

“Oh, great,” Ryan mumbled to himself. He shook his head and turned to the door, “I think I’m going out there to look for him.” At this, Michael slowly untangled himself from Gavin and rolled himself out of the bed.

“No, I’ll go. I don’t know this fucking area that well, but I do know it better than you,” he said. “Besides, I shouldn’t have let him go on his own like that.”

Ryan frowned. “This isn’t your fault,” he assured him, but Michael waved him off.

Michael then turned back to Gavin who was still sleeping and curled up, and he gently touched his forehead. “Oh, god damnit,” he said under his breath.

“What is it?” Ryan asked. Michael bit down on his lower lip, removing his hand and looking at the man over his shoulder.

“He has a fever… he’s burning up.” Upon hearing how distressed Michael seemed about that, Ryan stepped forward and promised to cool Gavin’s fever down while he was out looking for Ray. Michael quietly thanked him as he walked over to the door and grabbed his backpack off the floor. He trusted Ryan, of course he did, but a part of him still wished he could stay with Gavin instead. But Ray probably needed him and he wasn’t going to let him down. So, he turned on his heel and rushed into the garage where Lloyd was. Smee was supposed to still be with Ray and if Michael wanted to be quick in locating the two, he would need to go on horseback instead of on foot. He opened up the garage door and led the horse outside before pulling that door back down and getting himself on her back.

“Okay, girl, let’s go find our friends,” he told her as gently kicked her side. And off they went.

 

* * *

 

When Ray felt himself waking up, he didn’t remember anything of what had happened. That is, until he fully opened his eyes to see cell bars in front of him. He also heard the sound of chopping and slowly got himself to his feet to search for the source of the noise. He didn’t have to look hard. Just a few feet away from him was a counter where a man he didn’t recognize stood in front of, chopping away at something. With the dim lighting of the room, Ray had to squint his eyes slightly to realize it was a _person_. A person, stripped of their clothing, was being chopped up.

“Holy shit,” he whispered, catching the man’s attention. This man didn’t look any older than Michael or Gavin, and he scoffed at Ray’s appearance before slamming the tip of the butcher knife onto the counter and exiting the room. As he exited, another man he didn’t know entered, but this one was much older – black, wavy hair covered in grey hairs, scruffy facial hair that resembled his own, and hazel eyes that brightened as he smiled at Ray.

“Hello there. I’m George,” he introduced himself, holding up a plate of food. “Figured you’d be hungry.” Ray squeezed his eyebrows together as he looked down to inspect the food. George merely chuckled and slid the plate through a small opening underneath the bars.

“No thanks… I don’t eat… whoever that is,” Ray nodded toward the piled up limbs on the counter. George’s smile widened.

“It’s deer,” he corrected and Ray gaped at him.

“That was _mine_.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I hunted that deer down! You knocked me out and stole it!”

“Oh, no,” George shook his head, “you’ve got me all wrong. My men brought that deer over, along with you. See, _they_ may have stolen it from you, but I had nothing to do with it. They were just out hunting themselves. We have a lot of hungry people around here.”

“So do I,” Ray narrowed his eyes at him.

“Including yourself. So go on, eat what’s rightfully yours.”

Ray took a step away from the bars, building more distance between him and George, but he couldn’t deny the growls coming from his stomach. He wasn’t even sure when the last time he ate was. And so, he dropped to his knees and dug in without shame.

“This better just be deer,” he grumbled through his full mouth.

“I promise,” George nodded. “And I am sorry my men knocked you out like that. No hard feelings or anything. They’re just holding… a bit of a _grudge_.” Ray paused his rapid chewing to look up curiously at him. “They just don’t like it when a group of other survivors kill some of our own people.”

Ray swallowed hard, pushing the plate away and standing up once more. “What the hell do you mean?”

“You see, I sent a group of my men out a few weeks back, on a little supply run. Most of them didn’t come back. The few that did reported that four young men with horses attacked them at a university-”

“Oh, fuck off,” Ray backed away even further. George was smirking now.

“I met your friend yesterday and gave him some medicine. You and him… you seem like a pair of good boys, loyal and strong. We could use people like you two here.”

“I’d rather you chop me up,” Ray growled, snarling.

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that. Not to you, or to him. You two are… special. I think I’ll keep you two alive,” with that, George began to head toward the door he came from, but he did halt when he heard Ray speak again.

“If you have him, you better fucking let him go!”

George couldn’t even resist the grin that formed on his face. “I don’t have him yet, but I’m about to,” and he stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind him as Ray shouted a string of profanities at him.

 

* * *

 

“Whoa, girl,” Michael said, pulling Lloyd to a rough stop as Smee came into their view. “What the fuck? Why are you still here?” The stallion turned his head to look at Michael and he appeared to be just as baffled as Michael was over Ray’s absence.

Michael was just about to hop off Lloyd when he felt a pair of hands grabbing at his side. “Ow!” Michael hissed as the assaulter dug their nails into his arm, their grip tightening. He looked over to find a man, his face partly covered by a scarf, but Michael could still make out the scowl.

“I’ve got you, you little shit!” The man threatened as he attempted to pull Michael off Lloyd. Michael curled his right hand into a tight fist and swung it forward at him. The man stumbled backward and Michael used his short moment of freedom to take off with Lloyd. “HE’S GETTING AWAY!”

“Shoot the horse! Shoot the damn horse!”

“Oh, fuck no,” Michael breathed out, kicking Lloyd a bit harder to pick up her pace. However, he found more hunters were up ahead where he was going, and he had to take rough turns and duck to avoid their attacks. But anywhere he turned, more men would jump out to shoot at him. _God damnit. They’re everywhere_! Michael clenched his teeth as he attempted to speed Lloyd up a little more to make a jump over a fence. The jump had been a success, except Lloyd wasn’t able to make the landing she wanted, because she was hit.

The horse tumbled over, crying out in agony and knocking Michael off her back. Michael immediately went rolling down the hill with her. The only difference – when he landed, he was still alive, and she wasn’t. He lifted his head off the snow and looked over to see her blood already creating a small pool underneath her. And it only increased his anger.

Michael jumped to his feet and pulled his gun out from his backpack. He could hear the men from up above say, “He went somewhere down the hill.”

“You fucking bet I did, you god damn _pricks_ ,” he responded, his voice hushed. And he took off before they could reach the edge and see him.

If these men were after him, he was more than positive that they had captured Ray and were holding him captive. He was also positive their settlement was in town and he could find Ray somewhere around there. Ducking behind anything that would hide him, Michael navigated his way through the row of cabins and followed the signs that told him where to go to reach his destination.

 

* * *

 

Ryan was in the process of removing the damp cloth from Gavin’s forehead to check how warm he was now. He was still very much warm, but it wasn’t anything as alarming as it had been before. After setting the cloth aside, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. At this point, he wasn’t even sure how long it had been since Michael left to go find Ray, but he was growing impatient. And being so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear the noises coming from Gavin until he heard his name spoken.

“Ryan?” Gavin croaked out.

Ryan raised an eyebrow and looked back at Gavin. “Oh, hey. How are you feeling?” Gavin slowly sat up a little and groaned at the sharp ache in his side. He also noticed how his head was throbbing and how his entire brain felt as if it was fogged up.

“Bloody hell. Was my head rammed into a wall-oh, Christ, is that _my_ voice?” Gavin’s voice was raspy and seemed exhausted even though Gavin hadn’t said much of anything in days. He sniffled and began to rub his temples, quiet whines escaping him.

“Yeah, you had a pretty high fever a little while ago, but I think I cooled it down,” Ryan told him.

“Where’s Michael?” Gavin eventually asked, excepting a quick reply from Ryan, but when Ryan said nothing, Gavin looked up at him worriedly.

“He’s out looking for Ray, but uh… it’s been a while now. I just… I honestly don’t know,” Ryan shook his head. “But I’m not going out there to look for them. I won’t leave you, okay?”

“Well, then, let’s go together! We have to find them,” Gavin was speaking as he kicked the blankets off himself. Ryan stopped him, however, and Gavin glared at him.

“We can’t go anywhere, Gavin. You can barely walk without bending over in pain and you’re _sick_! Going out there in the freezing cold isn’t going to help.” 

“Like it’s any warmer in here,” Gavin rolled his eyes.

“It’s a _bit_ warmer than out there!”

“Ryan, what if something terrible has happened to Michael and Ray? Are we really going to sit our arses around and not do anything about it?” Those questions struck something in Ryan, causing his lips to part and realization to dawn on his face. Gavin then stood up, and just as Ryan had suspected, he bent over a little and groaned. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him. Gavin inhaled sharply and clutched his side with one hand as he took a step forward.

“Okay, but if you’re going out there, you should cover up a little more,” Ryan suggested, already making his way out of the room to get something. Gavin looked himself up and down. How much more could he cover up? Michael had already put him in another long sleeved shirt and a thick, leather jacket. But Ryan returned with a blue beanie and placed it over his head without a word. Gavin made no protest, though, and the two of them quickly grabbed their things before heading out of the house together.

 

* * *

 

He should have expected the town to be covered in people. Those guys, George and Larry, did mention that they had a large group of their own – a town’s full, it seemed. Michael wasn’t even sure where to begin his search for Ray. They could literally have him anywhere, but he decided to start from the tallest building he could manage to see.

The wind had actually begun blowing more harshly after Michael snuck away from the cabins that by the time he’d reach the town, it was a full on blizzard. It actually served to his advantage, though, because if he couldn’t see shit that meant the other people had to be having the same problem. He used one arm to shield his face as he powered through the forceful wind.

Michael kept blinking hard. He already had terrible vision as is, no longer having his glasses, but this was blizzard was just a big ole “fuck you” to him. Ignoring the numbness all over his face and hands, he continued making his way behind the people who were too busy trying to keep themselves warm to turn around and see him. Another advantage of the blizzard, it was so damn loud that his footsteps were blocked off.

He almost reached the first building he’d spotted in the distance, but he gasped when he noticed Larry standing out front. He quickly ducked behind a car and peeked over it to get a look at the man. Well, there was no way Michael was getting in there without drawing attention. Michael looked over to his right and saw an alley with a few back doors to the buildings on the left and right. _What if Ray is in one of those? But then why would Larry be guarding this particular building?_ He wondered to himself.

Another person, a woman, made her over to Larry and Michael watched as the two began to have a conversation. Michael huffed and carefully moved away from the two to reach the alley. It was better to look everywhere, anyway, just in case. Michael picked the door on his left first and found himself inside a quiet backroom that was filled with a stack of supplies. Although, what caught Michael’s attention the most was a specific backpack he recognized. Shutting the door behind him, Michael’s eyes widened as he asked, “What the hell is Ray’s stuff doing here?”

He quickly ran over and picked the backpack off the shelf before rushing out through another door that led to the front. The building appeared to be an old ice cream shop, but the survivors in town had turned it into their storage area. Michael clutched the backpack in his freezing hands and not able to see anyone through the windows, he made his way back outside. There was a diner off to the side, one that he was prepared to ignore, but through the storm, he heard an agonized scream break out.

Michael whipped his head in the direction of the restaurant and merely stared at it as if something _awful_ was about to come out of it. Nothing did, but that scream definitely had. “Ray?” He breathed. Well, that’s what he was going to find out. He ran right over to it and pushed the door open, finding himself in the kitchen area. The atmosphere felt lonely and there weren’t any sounds, no voices… nothing, but he still continued on.

“Ray?” He reluctantly called out. “Hey… are you here?” He heard what sounded like someone stepping on broken glasses, and when he turned around to see, he felt someone wrap their arms around his neck. Michael dropped Ray’s backpack and wildly brought his hands up to pull their arms away. 

“Ah, _gotcha_ ,” George whispered into his ear as he succeeded in causing Michael to pass out.

 

* * *

 

When Ray heard footsteps approach again, he stiffened, expecting it to be George, but it was just the first man he’d seen when he woke up. Instead of practically ignoring him this time, the stranger wandered up to his cell and took a key out from his pocket.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ray demanded.

“George wants to keep you alive. I disagree,” the man unlocked the cell and slide the door wide open. And Ray made a run for it, though the man proved to be stronger than him by tackling him to ground and straddling him there. “Oh, no, you don’t, you little bitch, not after you killed so many of _my_ friends.”

Ray gritted his teeth up at him as he struggled to push him off.

“Oh, I’m forgetting my manners. Hi, I’m Larry and I’m going to kill you,” Larry deviously grinned, cocking his head to the side, “And then I’m going to eat you.” Ray couldn’t help the fear that crept up on him and painted itself over his expression.

“You fucking animal!” He shouted, though his words were shaky, and it only had Larry laughing.

“George doesn’t need you. He can keep your other friend as his little pet. I think he’s _much more_ interested in him anyway.”

His heart was still pounding against his chest, but Ray groaned and resumed his squirming to break free. Larry grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be _nice_ and _quick_.”

And Ray’s breath hitched in his throat.

 

* * *

 

The relief that rushed through Gavin as he and Ryan finally reached the town was enough to keep him going, despite the fatigue pushing him down.

“Oh, my god, this town is bigger than I thought it’d be,” Ryan admitted, squinting his eyes to try and see better through the brutal blizzard. Gavin turned his head as his coughing fit threatened to come out. Ryan gently patted his back to soothe him, but it hardly did a thing.

“I think… we should…” Gavin paused to let out another cough and he even spit out a little, and then he tried not to gag at the trail of saliva going down his chin. Ryan turned to him, waiting for him to continue his thought. Gavin wiped his chin with the back of his hand, “Let’s split up.”

“Gavin, _look_ at you. You can’t go on by yourself!”

Gavin bent over, placing his hands on his knees as he coughed harder. But he still shook his head. “No, we’ll cover more ground. We’ll find them faster,” he spit out again and looked up at Ryan. “Please.”

Ryan pursed his lips, mentally debating his options in his head. Gavin had a point, but that didn’t mean Ryan liked it. Yet, it was the best decision for them to do. He pointed toward the left side of the town, “I’ll go this way. You check over there, but if you _don’t_ find them, come back _here_ and _wait_ for me. You understand?” Gavin stood back up straight and nodded. “Okay, be careful.”

“You, too,” Gavin told him. And they stepped away from each other to head their different ways, both with a sickening feeling increasing in their stomachs.

 

* * *

 

The second Michael felt himself becoming conscious again, he slapped away the hand that was caressing his cheek. And his eyebrows knitted together as he heard someone laugh. He opened his eyes and was barely surprised to find George hovering over him. From what else he could see, they were still in the diner, and Michael idly wondered why, but the smell of smoke quickly gave him an idea. He tried sitting up, but George only pushed him back down, holding him there on the ground by his chest.

“You put up such a good fight. I almost thought I wouldn’t catch you,” George chuckled.

“What do you want from me?” Michael asked, glaring at him.

“I sense something about you, something I think my people could benefit from.”

Michael scoffed. “Go fuck yourself.”

“Oh, come on. You really want to spend your time with someone as _pathetic_ as that British boy – who, by the way, probably won’t make it through this winter?”

“You shut the fuck up _right now_!”

“I’d watch my mouth if I were-” Michael instantly cut him off by swinging his fist up. Although he only slightly hit George in the side of his face, it was enough for him to roll over and jump to his feet. George laughed behind him, but Michael didn’t stop until he was safely behind one of the booths.

“This is _exactly_ what I’m talking about,” George said as he stood up and started to look around for Michael. “You haven’t ceased to amaze me yet.” Michael noticed his shadow drawing closer and he quietly crawled away to a different hiding spot.

“Just give it up and I’ll let your other little friend go.”

 _Ray_ … Michael pursed his lips and crawled away once again. All he had to do was sneak out of there and Ray would be fine. He was doing none of this compromising bullshit.

“Ah, there you are,” he heard George behind him. Michael attempted to get back up and make a run for it, but George was already slamming him flat against the floor by his foot. 

“Get the _fuck_ off me!” He screamed. George grinned as he removed his foot, but only to kick Michael right on the side. Michael cried out, especially when another kick came at him before he could recover from the first. He started to curl up to himself, but he was flipped over onto his back and held down by George practically lying on top of him.

“You really think it’s going to be _that_ easy to get away from _me_?” Any gentleness that George may have had in his tone was now _gone_. Michael wrestled underneath him, trying to kick up at him somehow or punch him again, but he stopped when he saw George reach back and pull something from under his shirt. Bringing it forward to show Michael what it was, Michael gulped as the machete’s tip touched his neck.

“ _Please_ ,” he struggled to say, his lower lip trembling.

George grinned crookedly. “Oh, _now_ he begs.” Michael reached up at him again. He finally grabbed hold of George by the shoulders and started pushing him back, but George was still able to move his machete against Michael’s neck. Michael clenched his teeth tightly to hold in the scream as the knife began to slowly cut through his skin.

Gavin wouldn’t have known where Michael was if it hadn’t been for the woman he heard say something about a man named George who had tricked one of the boys into the diner. Gavin frantically searched around until he reached what he hoped was the exact diner the woman mentioned. It appeared what she said was true, because it was the only building around that actually had its light on. Gavin made his way inside and had to grab at the nearest counter to hold himself up. He was cold… so cold, and he felt so weak, so exhausted, and horribly nauseated. His head was foggier than it was when he woke up and his throat felt on fire, but it was the sound of a strangled cry that startled him enough to force him to ignore the discomfort.

He stumbled out of the kitchen and halted in his tracks at the sight of Michael pinned to the ground by who Gavin had to assume was George. And when Gavin noticed what George was doing to Michael’s neck, he made a run for it, despite his body’s protest. George looked over and wasn’t able to react in time for Gavin to tackle him over. Michael gasped out in surprise and sat up. George easily pushed Gavin off him and being as weakened as he was, Gavin lied still a moment, struggling to get himself back up.

“ _Stupid_ boy,” George growled. He reached for his machete and when he felt nothing, he looked to see Michael’s feet next to him. He trailed his eyes up and he found his machete clutched in Michael’s hands. “I know you’re better than this.”

“No,” Michael shook his head, “You don’t know shit about me.” And the last expression Michael saw George make was one of absolute terror before the machete was slammed down onto his face. Michael lifted the knife back up and repeated the process, over and over, and over, not caring how the blood jumped up at him, until Gavin was pulling him away.

“Michael! _Michael_!” Gavin yelled, his throat rapidly giving up on him that the second time he yelled the name, it sounded like nothing but a hiss. Michael dropped the machete from his shaking hands and turned to face Gavin.

“G-Gav- you… y-you’re-”

Since talking was doing him no good, Gavin simply hushed Michael by grabbing his face and wiping away red liquid that covered Michael’s cheeks and nose. Michael took a deep breath and leaned forward into his arms.

 

* * *

 

Larry’s head whipped up at the sound of a door opening nearby. He glared down at Ray before slowly getting to his feet, yanking Ray up with him.

“You wait here,” he growled, slamming Ray roughly into the wall. From the shock, Ray limply fell over, back onto the ground. Larry figured that would buy him some time while he quickly went to investigate whoever was inside with them. He grabbed the knife off the counter on his way out.

Ryan couldn’t tell what the hell was exactly hanging from the ceiling in the meat locker he seemed to have walked into. The carcasses certainly didn’t look like any animal he’d ever seen. He then felt bile rise in his throat at the possibilities of what those bodies really were, but he was ripped from his thoughts as he heard someone speak to him.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Ryan turned his head and lifted his hands up in front of him. “Listen-”

“ _Who_ are you?”

Ryan wanted to reach for something to use – he would use anything, but the man threatening him with a butcher knife gave him no choice as he charged at him. Ryan widened his eyes and ducked as Larry made a swing at him with that knife. When he got back up, however, Larry grabbed him by the hair with his free hand and did exactly what he had just done to Ray. Except this time, he made sure Ryan hit the wall head first to knock him out completely – or rather, Larry believed Ryan would be out cold for a while. He didn’t bother to stay a little longer to make sure.

 

 

* * *

 

Ray blinked hard and shook his head to regain himself from having the air momentarily knocked out of him. He looked up to see something familiar on the counter that was on the other side of the room. As he heard Larry fight with the intruder, Ray used the support of the wall behind him to get him to his feet, and his heart leaped in excitement to see that the object on the counter was what he had thought. He could hear someone grunt in pain and a body hitting the floor, and he figured either the intruder or Larry won, and either way, he was getting that gun.

And as soon as he grabbed it, he heard footsteps reenter the room.

“Drop it and step away,” it was Larry. Ray slowly turned around and aimed.

He could be asked numerous times how he ended up where he was and he wouldn’t know what to say in response. He held tightly onto the pistol despite the shakiness of his hand, but there was no hesitation. None at all. He released the trigger and the breath he’d been holding before collapsing onto his knees. The choked up noise that came out of him next caught him by surprise, but he didn’t hold back. He dropped the gun and balled his hands into tight fists before he repeatedly slammed them onto the freezing, concrete floor.

And he could barely comprehend anything else that was occurring around him until he was sure someone was next to him and wrapping their arms around him. They felt warm compared to how god damn cold he was. His entire face was numb, but the hot tears streaming down helped get back some of the feeling on his cheeks. He didn’t bother to wipe them away. He didn’t bother to do a thing but remain still, hiccupping and gasping for air as he tried to steady his strangled sobs.

He could still hear the words that’d been haunting him since they were first spoken. In fact, that was all he could hear right now.

It wasn’t until the person holding him pulled back and made him look at them that he started to listen. Ryan’s soft, blue eyes were looking into his brown ones, and he suddenly felt the reassurance he needed.

“Ryan…” he tried, but he failed to say anymore, and Ryan took that as enough.

Holding him close again, Ryan kissed the side of his head and whispered, “I’m getting you the hell out of here. I’m getting _us_ out of here. We’re going to be okay. I promise you. I won’t let _anything_ happen to you again.”

 

* * *

 

_Spring_

If they had paid closer attention, they could have seen it coming. Ray and Ryan had grown distant from them since the fight with George and his men back in Colorado. Sometimes it wasn’t as obvious, which was probably why Gavin and Michael let it slip by them, but some days there was no denying how much the two clung each other. Gavin mentioned it to Michael once, saying how it seemed as if Ray and Ryan had some sort of secret between them. Michael laughed it off and told him he was being paranoid.

Gavin laughed in return, because perhaps he was. He’d known Ray for so long, he’d be able to tell if something was truly amiss. But he’d been wrong.

They had just reached the state of Utah and were working on repairing a van when it occurred, and Gavin was rendered speechless.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re leaving?” Michael demanded, staring daggers at Ryan.

Ryan shut the hood of the van shut and sighed. “You heard me correctly.”

At this, Michael turned to Ray who was already looking at him. After a moment, Ray shrugged.

“Ryan and I are going to see the Fireflies,” he stated simply.

Michael could feel his eye twitch. “Yeah, we _all_ are.”

“No,” Ray shook his head. “We’re going without you.” Michael blinked, his eyebrows shooting up. And the entire time, Gavin merely stood there between them, looking back and forth at the two.

“W-why?” Michael finally managed to ask, his previous angry tone softened into defeat.

Ryan let out a laugh and everyone’s attention turned to him. After regaining himself, Ryan locked eyes with Michael, “You really think I just completely forgot about _everything_ the Fireflies have done to me? You really think I came on this journey to help _you_ help _them_ find a _cure_?” There was such disgust laced within his words that Michael honestly felt stung by them. Ryan moved around the front of the car and leaned against the driver’s side door, arms folded across his chest.

“I like you, Michael. I do. But there are some things I just won’t do for you. This is one of them.”

“So, what do you plan to do, Ryan?” It was Gavin, surprisingly, who had asked.

Ryan smirked at him as he answered, “I plan to kill them – each and every one of them.” Gavin’s mouth fell open, so he looked to Ray for another answer. Ray’s face fell and before he could say anything to Gavin, he had to avert his gaze.

“They deserve this, Gavin,” he whispered.

“Ray…”

“Ray feels the same way that I do,” Ryan intervened. Gavin slumped his shoulders and turned away from Ryan’s burning stare. Ray shook his head, his hands curling into tight fists.

“Why do you think I was alone when we met, Gavin?” He asked. “That bullshit story I told you about how I lost my parents?” Gavin didn’t say anything, so Ray went on, “Yeah, I lost them, but not how I told you. They were murdered, Gavin, by two Fireflies. You know _why_?”

Gavin glanced at Ray, hoping that was enough of signal for him to give his answer. It was.

“Because my parents were getting in their _way_ ,” Ray threw his hands up, “That’s it. My parents accidentally interrupted one of their little experiments and they got _angry_.”

Michael closed his eyes as he faced downward. Nothing he could think of saying would do any good, so he decided not to say anything at all.

“I will _never_ forgive them,” Ray choked out, and it was then that Gavin realized how close to tears Ray had been the entire time. His instinct was to rush up to him and hold him while he cried, just like he would have a year ago, but this was different, and something within him told not to bother.

And so, he and Michael were silent. After a while, Ryan banged his fist against the car door, gaining Ray’s full attention.

“Let’s go,” Ryan told him. Ray took a deep, shaky breath and nodded as he wiped his eyes with his hands.

Gavin watched in dismay as his friend got into that van without him, but what really got to him was how Ryan looked at him and said, “You can come with us, Gavin.” And what, leave Michael? Yes, that was exactly it. Gavin moved backward, shaking his head, his vision blurring.

“Well, maybe we’ll see each other again,” Ryan then glanced at Michael and for a second, just one second, Gavin could see the guilt on Ryan’s face. The older man said nothing to Michael, though; he merely got into the driver’s side and started the vehicle up while Michael and Gavin stood still and watched them drive off.

Once they were far enough away, Michael spoke up and asked Gavin, “Why didn’t you go with them?” Gavin sighed deeply and started walking forward without giving Michael an answer, because he was sure that answer was already evident. Michael followed him, but neither of them dared to utter another word to each other for the rest of that day.

 

* * *

 

_April 10, 2025_

With little knowledge about whether or not they were heading in the right direction, Michael and Gavin continuously found themselves in the worst situations as the days without Ray and Ryan went on. If it wasn’t running into a trap set up by bandits, it was running for their lives as a herd of Runners chased after them.

And now, they found themselves stuck within a tunnel they couldn’t get around. It wouldn’t be so terrible having to get over cars and buses that were trapped there, but upon getting closer, they heard the unmistakable sounds of Clickers. Not only that, but Michael had glanced over and spotted a Bloater wandering around up ahead.

Ryan was the most experienced out of all of them – it was just something that was known and didn’t need to be clearly stated. The man knew how to be stealthy, he knew how to construct various bombs – Molotov, nail, and smoke bombs. Gavin was skilled at the bow and using handguns and long firearms if needed, but in truth, he felt useless in moments like these. Michael basically just knew the same as him and together they did make a good team, but they were both aware of how much faster it would be if they had Ray and Ryan with them.

Neither of them had mentioned the pair since they left, or of anything that had happened. The first week had been the toughest, with neither of them ever knowing what to say or feel, but after a while, it was like they silently told each other to just move on from it. From then on, they actually did _try_ making the best out of the rest of their journey when they weren’t in situations such as this one.

Anytime they could give themselves a break, they would use it and occupy their time with their arms around each other and their lips moving together. It always served as a wonderful distraction from everything else, just getting lost in the feeling of one another. A few days earlier, on a particular afternoon of lazy kisses against a wall, Gavin absentmindedly began running his hands down Michael’s arms, until he remembered, and his right hand froze as it hovered over Michael’s forearm. But then, he broke away from the kiss and tentatively pulled Michael’s sleeve up and stared hard at the bite, at the reason they were where they were.

“What do you think they’ll do?” Michael unexpectedly asked. Gavin shook his head and tore his gaze away to look into Michael’s eyes.

“I have absolutely no idea, but I hope it won’t take too long. I was thinking we could head back to Geoff and Griffon after this is over.”

Michael faintly smiled. “Yeah… yeah, we should.” He gently touched the bite on his arm and sighed. “When I realized that I really wasn’t going to turn and that I had to get to the Fireflies, I kept thinking about something you said to me a long time ago.” Gavin’s eyebrows twitched together, unsure what Michael was referring to. Michael figured that, though, and quickly clarified, “Before this started, you asked me if I ever felt like making an impact on the world… back then, I thought it was just one of your _stupid_ questions,” his smile widened there, though it quickly faltered, “but… it was all I could think about a year ago.”

“You are definitely going to be making an impact now, aren’t you,” Gavin had asked, but it sounded more like just a statement. Michael pulled his sleeve back down and pulled Gavin in closer until their foreheads were touching.

“I think I’m a little scared,” he whispered, and Gavin held him in a tight embrace.

But now they were both more than terrified.

Without talking it over with each other, they agreed to as sneaky as possible. If they could just move their way around and get the fuck out of there without being caught, they would stay alive and not have to use up any of their weapons. Gavin took the lead, although Michael was right on his tail. A few of Clickers were making rounds, going from left to right. Michael and Gavin waited until they cycled around before attempting to get past.

Michael also kept glancing over his shoulder, watching that Bloater take a few steps, stop, and then move again. From how crouched they were, they might as well have been crawling. Each step, forcing themselves to lift their foot up slightly, was panic-inducing when any step they took could make a noise of some kind (by stepping on something loud or kicking an object). But as they started to pass the two Clickers and Bloater, they sighed in relief, and decided it wouldn’t be terrible to pick up their pace a bit.

Around a bus, they saw more Clickers standing around, but these weren’t moving. They were simply scattered about, twitching and screeching in their spots. Gavin wanted to go first, but when one made a particular, loud sound, he held his breath and froze. Michael patted his back and went ahead. Instead of crouching this time, they pressed their backs against the bus to quietly move along it, and then move along the wall until they were on the other side.

They would take one wide step to the left, pause, and then do it again. There was one Clicker who was annoyingly standing close to the wall, and even facing it. Michael was at least thankful that it was blind. The only challenge was walking past without it hearing them. Gavin ended up building a wide distance between him and Gavin from failing to stay in sync with their strides, but Michael flashed him a small smile, and Gavin relaxed in taking his time.

Michael was nearing the Clicker closest to the wall and before he took his next step, the one that leave him right in front of it, he inhaled quietly, and let it out slowly. _Come on, you’ve dealt with this assholes before. You can do this… you can, idiot,_ he thought to himself, and it was enough to get him going again. He took the next stride and flattened himself even more against the wall, as if possible, and his eyes glued onto the Clicker’s face. He could see _everything_ , every little detail. He stared at how exactly its face, except for its mouth, was taken over by the infection – large molds of fungus sticking out in every direction. Even the skin that was still visible around the mouth was rotted with bits of that fungus forming.

Michael felt stuck the longer he stared at its hideous face. There was no way he could move. If he moved, it would hear him. If he _breathed_ , it would hear him. Only two feet of distance between them, that was it, and Michael felt his knees go weak with the nerves building up inside. All this thing needed to do was sense his presence, grab him, and bite a chunk out of his neck to kill him instantly.

And then there was something touching his hand and he stiffened. He quickly realized it was just Gavin who was now next to him again. Michael side eyed him and saw Gavin returning the small smile from moments ago. They were in this together. Michael licked his lips and moved over to the left, and then again so that Gavin wouldn’t have to stay too long in front of that Clicker.

Michael’s palms were sweating by the time they reached another corner and made their way around. On the other side, no infected were in sight, and Gavin had to hold back from dropping onto the ground and kissing it. Though it was risky and they were terribly too close a few times, Gavin was happy with the way they did that. He couldn’t tell what Michael was feeling – his expression being blank, but he didn’t ask or try to figure it out as they hurried their way down the rest of the tunnel.

He hoped Michael was just as proud of themselves as he was.

 

* * *

 

_April 14, 2025_

They had just taken an exit into a new city, but they had seen a sign a few miles back that mentioned Salt Lake City. They were actually getting closer. Gavin wanted to bounce on his toes as he walked, the mixture of relief and excitement that they weren’t ultimately lost was overwhelming. Because of that, he didn’t notice how Michael was the exact opposite of how he must have looked.

“Hey, wait,” Michael suddenly spoke as he came to stop. Gavin did as well, turning slowly to look at him. He frowned as he finally noticed the uncertainty upon Michael’s face. Michael pursed his lips, thinking over the words he’d been meaning to say for a while. He then just threw his hands up and sighed loudly. “Remember when I talked about my friend Lindsay – the one who was there when I was bit?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow questioningly, but he nodded. Michael clasped his hands together and averted his eyes as he fidgeted with his fingers.

“She was bit, too, but not that same day. She got bit two weeks after. Because of what she saw happen to me, she thought… maybe this meant everything was okay now, that maybe…” he trailed off, yet Gavin knew where that was leading. Michael dropped his hands and looked up at Gavin.

“She turned the next morning. I was the only one there. I had to take her out.”

Gavin cocked his head to the side, frown deepening. Michael turned away and began to pace, and Gavin made no move in stopping him.

“That’s why I left to find the Fireflies. It wasn’t fair, Gav. It wasn’t fair that she turned and I didn’t. She thought… she thought she was… lucky, too,” he slowed his steps until he was just standing still again, and his shoulders slumped.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Michael,” Gavin finally responded. “Sorry” was probably the last thing Michael wanted to hear. That wasn’t why he had told Gavin that – he wasn’t looking for sympathy – but it was the only thing Gavin could think to say. He could have just said nothing at all.

“You know, I don’t know if I really am _lucky_ or if I’m the _cure_ to fixing this bullshit, but…” Michael curled his hands into fists and blinked rapidly as his eyes watered, “all I know is that… people get hurt around me. Ever since this shit started, it’s been that way- no, don’t fucking argue with me right now, okay?” Gavin immediately clamped his mouth shut and Michael continued, though his bottom lip quivered slightly, “My parents… Lindsay… your friends back in Boston – Joel, Barbara, Adam – and then you.”

“Michael, what happened to them was not your fault-”

“No, you don’t fucking get it!” Michael shouted in frustration, turning around so Gavin couldn’t see the first tears dripping down his face.

“Your parents? How the bloody hell were you to know that infected would sneak up on us like that? How were you supposed to stop it, Michael? How were any of us supposed to when we were caught off guard and outnumbered? Your parents protected you, just like any parent would. They tried and they _succeeded_ in keeping you alive. In the end, that’s all they wanted. That’s what they did.”

“No, they were _ripped_ apart by those Runners just to save _me_!” Michael looked back at him and Gavin felt something tug at him when he saw how drenched Michael’s face was. “I could have done something, but I didn’t do shit!”

“No, you couldn’t have done anything.”

“I _could_ have-”

“Michael!” Gavin rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulders, and Michael gasped out to steady his sobs.

“I just don’t fucking want anything to happen to you again, because of _me_.”

“The first time wasn’t your fault.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten shot like that if you didn’t come on this trip with me.”

Gavin snorted. “ _Michael_ ,” he narrowed his eyes, “I can guarantee it would have happened at some point.”

“Shut up,” Michael sighed, shrugging his hands off his shoulders. Gavin put them down, but he didn’t oblige.

“No, _you_ shut up, Michael. You want me to let you go through with however this ends on your own. But I’m going to do that. I _can’t_ do that. I also know that’s not what you truly want.”

“I’m… I’m worried about what’s going to happen when we get there,” Michael admitted, “I mean, _if_ we get there. We’re not like Ryan who knows exactly where he’s going,” he then turned away, as if he was suddenly stunned by something. “What if they do get there first and ruin the whole thing? It would be like this was all for nothing.” Gavin knitted his eyebrows together.

Not only was that the first time in so long that Michael had verbally brought up Ryan, but it was also something Gavin couldn’t deny how high the possibility was. Ryan was the reason they had gotten as far as they had. There was hardly any doubt he and Ray would get there long before Gavin and Michael had a chance.

“I’m going to be completely honest with you, Michael,” Gavin began. Michael merely looked at him over his shoulder. “I have no bloody idea what will happen once we get there. Maybe Ryan and Ray will get there first and they might do what they said, but maybe not. Maybe we can beat them. Then there’s… the probability of the Fireflies not even being there.”

“They’re _going_ to be there. I know they will,” Michael responded. He sounded more than determined to believe that, and Gavin didn’t want to argue with him. Perhaps they will be there.

“Then we will be the first ones to greet them,” he said. Michael inhaled sharply.

“Are you sure, Gavin? You can turn back now and go back to the Ramsey’s.”

“I can,” Gavin nodded, “But I’m sure, Michael. I’m very sure this is what I want to do. The question is,” he took a step toward him, “Are _you_ sure you want to go through with this?”

Michael let out a small laugh, though it lacked any real joy. The sound of it caused chills to run down Gavin’s back.

“After the shit we’ve been through, especially these past few months, I’m _more_ than sure this is what I want to do,” Michael answered. “I _have_ to finish what I started.” Gavin’s lips twitched upward at that.

“Well, we have a long way to go, I’m assuming,” Gavin stated, making his way around Michael to continue on down the path they’d been walking on. Although, he halted in his tracks when he realized Michael wasn’t following. He held his out behind him, “You’re certainly won’t be doing this alone... I promise.” He waited… and waited… patiently, waited for Michael to move, or say something.

The two of them stood still in their places, but when Gavin glanced back, Michael finally seemed to react by softening his expression and slowly moving forward. Once he was mere inches from Gavin, he bit down on his lower lip and tentatively took Gavin’s hand before interlacing their fingers. 

“Let’s go, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, the story didn't end with them actually getting to Salt Lake City. That's why in the beginning I said I could do more with this if people wanted me to. And I still will if you'd like. 
> 
> But for now, this will be it. If I do end up writing more, it will happen a little later (few weeks or so, depending if I end up writing it all in one night or something). 
> 
> Thank you for reading this long thing. I will always love TLOU and I'm so happy I finally wrote an AU of it with my favorite people. :)


	5. Last Stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say that if people really wanted it, I would continue this until the end. So, here we are :) because now I have more time to write haha. Also much shorter than usual because I decided this sounded better ending where it did, so I cut it up into two. Next and (for reals) final part will be up on Monday. I'm also playing around with the idea of doing a Left Behind AU, just because why not??? I've already written half of the first part and I'm liking it, so yeah I may keep going through with it. 
> 
> **Song of the chapter** : “[Vanishing Grace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIL4iETMB-0)” if you’ve played/love the game, you’ll instantly know which part that song is from. I pretty much rewrote the exact scene here, because it’s one of my ultimate favorites!!!

How was he not supposed to notice the quiet snaps of twigs when there had been nothing but silence until then? He put himself on even higher alert and stood slowly, the grip on his knife tightening. He wasn’t sure how many were there, but he could definitely tell it was more than one person approaching his little campsite.

And he was ready for them.

The two strangers made their appearance as soon as they managed to make their way over the short fence he put up. But as soon as they saw him, they froze, their mouths falling agape.

“Oh, shit! W-we didn’t know anyone else was here!” The first and taller guy responded, holding his hands up in front of him in defense. Despite the evident fear in his tone, Michael still narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth at him, because he knew how the game was played. People would play the innocent before making their attack.

Now, Michael only saw two of them, but he was prepared for more to jump out at him from different angles. Yet the two strangers wouldn’t dare move a muscle or take their eyes off Michael. The shorter one, however, eventually put his hands up as well – equally frightened as his friend.

“What the fuck do you want?” Michael decided to ask, purposely lowering his voice until it was gravelly and emotionless. It did exactly what he wanted it to do; it intimidated the strangers further, making them tense.

“Um, well, we were just making our way past, and uh-”

“Why? Where are you headed to?” Michael demanded.

The taller man pursed his lips, seeming to mentally debate whether or not he really wanted to tell Michael the truth. As moments passed, the two men still refused to speak, and Michael felt himself growing impatient. He began to step toward them and they took a step back, but they couldn’t get too far, because a hand was immediately placed on both of their backs, keeping them in place.

“He asked you a question, _mates_ ,” Gavin deviously said from behind.

“We’re looking for the Fireflies,” the shorter one confessed, releasing his breath. His friend side eyed him. Although, if he was angry about the confession, he didn’t completely show it. “I-I’m Kerry.”

“That’s great,” Michael grumbled, tossing his knife aside in exchange for his pistol. Kerry turned his head to stare up at his friend, but his friend couldn’t look away from Michael’s gun.

“I wouldn’t mind knowing the names of _both_ our victims,” Gavin said to that taller friend, pinching his back slightly, enough to get a small yelp out of him.

“M-Miles,” he choked out, eyes widening as Michael drew closer. “You wouldn’t just kill me, would you? We didn’t do anything to you! We weren’t _planning_ on it, either! Come on, man. Just let us keep walking. We promise we’ll just leave and we won’t cause you _any_ trouble!”

“Miles and Kerry,” Gavin purred, glancing back and forth between the two. “We would love to believe you, but we’ve had a tiring week and we aren’t in the mood for any unexpected company.”

“Then let us leave!” Kerry blurted. “We’ll run the fuck away as fast as we can, okay?” Michael closed the distance between him and Kerry, cocking his head to the side as a grin formed on his face.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Kerry visibly relaxed at that and Michael admittedly felt a bit of guilt rise in him for creating so much fear within the younger man.

“What kind of deal?” Miles questioned, raising an eyebrow. Gavin pinched him again, getting yet another yelp of surprise from him.

“He wasn’t asking you,” Gavin told him.

“I was asking good ole Kerry here,” Michael spoke, lifting Kerry’s head up a little more by the chin. Kerry inhaled sharply and nodded, the signal for Michael to go on. “Okay, well, it’s actually just a bit of information I want. One question could lead to more. It’ll just depend. Got it?” Another nod from Kerry and Michael’s expression softened.

“You said you were looking for the Fireflies,” Michael started, “so, do you have any idea where you’re going to find them?” Kerry shook his head and Michael groaned. “Then you’re useless to us.” Kerry had no time to react to Michael’s gun roughly making contact with his temple. However, instead of letting him fall over onto the ground, Michael caught him and gently lowered him.

Miles merely gaped at his friend now lying down, knocked out for the time being, that he didn’t even get to notice Gavin’s hand raise. As with Kerry, Michael caught Miles and lowered him down, laying him right next to Kerry.

“No need to kill them. They’re harmless,” he whispered.

“Maybe we should have let them join us then,” Gavin said as he watched Michael put his gun away and search the backpacks Miles and Kerry had on.

“Uh, I take back what I just said… well, kind of.”

“What?”

Michael proceeded to pulling out a few cans from Kerry’s backpack and held them up. After Gavin got a good enough look at them, Michael set them aside and pulled out a can opener than Gavin had specifically marked with red paint a week back.

“The other night when some of our food _magically_ disappeared? That was them who took it,” Michael clarified when Gavin still seemed a little baffled. “But I’ll keep my word – they’re harmless. Any other person would have murdered us in our sleep. They just wanted food.” He stood up, taking back the cans and can opener with him.

“Well, let’s just get going,” Gavin sighed, quickly jumping over the unconscious two and making a grab for his own backpack off the ground. Michael turned to leave as well, but then he looked down at the cans clutched in his hands and bit down gently on his lower lip.

“I’ll let you idiots keep one,” he murmured, putting a can of peaches down next to Miles’ face. With that, he put the rest with his other things and hurried to catch up with Gavin.

No matter how hard they’d been trying to stay on track with locations, they felt lost again. At some point, they stopped seeing the signs about Salt Lake City and weren’t even sure which way to go. It was a mess of frustration and annoyance, and they weren’t about to let anyone slow them down even more than they had already slowed themselves. Kerry and Miles could have been helpful, but the two were apparently more lost than Michael and Gavin were, and having them along wouldn’t have solved anything.

With every day that passed, the conversations between the two seemed to shorten. At times, for hours, they wouldn’t utter a single word to each other. They certainly weren’t angry or upset at one another for any reason, they just sometimes found it easier to not say anything at all, and they did well with communicating with their eyes and expressions. So, words weren’t as much of a necessity as one would think.

However, if one of them did attempt to talk out loud, the other wouldn’t allow the conversation to die down so easily. And that’s how they would sometimes up not talking for hours to talking until they were about ready to fall into a deep slumber underneath the night sky. But they didn’t find any of this to be strange or unnatural. It was just the way they were with each other, and it worked—it was comfortable.

Endurance was what they struggled with most, especially as they noticed the increased shortage of their food with those passing days. Their muscles also constantly ached with any fast movements they tried to make. They also sometimes could swear their feet were bleeding from how much they throbbed after they finally managed to sit for a rest.

Although, after a few more days went by and they were actually beginning to believe they were leading themselves to their death, they spotted a sign—the sign. They probably could have cried from how relieved they were to read the words: _Salt Lake City_

And just to add to the beauty of that, another sign read: _Hospital next exit_.

“This is it, Gav… we made it,” Michael breathed out, his eyes scanning the two signs one more time to make sure he hadn’t been seeing things.

Gavin remained still a moment as he took a deep breath. He then closed his eyes momentarily to enjoy the feeling of the warm spring breeze against his face and hair. The relief that was washing through him was overwhelming and he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so at peace.

“We can’t stop now, then,” he spoke up, opening his eyes to look at Michael next to him. Michael frantically nodded and rushed forward first, down the long road that was filled with abandoned vehicles that had been attempting to enter the city. He idly wondered what had occurred during this attempt to drive everyone out of their cars, but he shook that wonder away and focused on the task at hand—reaching the tall, glass building in the distance that he was sure had the word “Hospital” across the top. They walked closely together, having a mindless talk about what they both hoped to do back at the Ramsey’s after this was over. They jumped over fences and cars before having to come to a stop in front of an old bus depot. Each of the roads surrounding it were blocked off by tall fences with barbed wire at the top. Their only choice was to cut through the depot, and so they went on in.

Michael was lingering behind at this point as his fascination of the area began to increase. He took his time in looking around, admiring every inch of the place like it was his very first time seeing something that was slowly being overtaken by nature. He was still wandering the second floor when he heard Gavin call out to him.

“ _Michael_?!”

He blinked and turned away from a particular map with markings he was inspecting. “What?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Did you not hear me just now?”

“Yeah, you shouted my name!”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “I asked if you could help me reach that ladder.” He pointed toward the object resting just above him on the second floor. If it weren’t for the gap in the floor, Michael could have easily walked over and grabbed it.

Then again, they wouldn’t need the ladder in the first place if that gap wasn’t there.

Michael didn’t answer as he hurried down the stairs and made his way over to Gavin. Gavin moved aside slightly as Michael cup his hands for him to be lifted up. “Go on,” Michael told him. Gavin wasted no time in placing his foot in Michael’s hand and reaching up to grab the edge of the second floor as Michael lifted him.

After pulling himself the rest of the way up, Gavin carefully set the ladder down for Michael and held it in place as Michael made his climb up. As soon as they were both standing next to each other, Gavin opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Michael saying underneath his breath, “Holy shit.”

Raising an eyebrow, Gavin asked, “What is it?” Although, Michael ignored his question in favor of getting a better look at whatever had caught his attention. When Gavin finally glanced over his shoulder, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he did see Michael heading down the hall at a pretty quick pace.

“ _Michael_?!” He called, going after him. “What the bloody hell-”

“Gav, you _have_ to see this,” Michael simply responded, playful grin growing on his face. And Gavin couldn’t find it within himself to complain over the lack of knowing what Michael was talking about. Not when Michael was smiling like that, like he was five years old again and had just received the greatest toy as a gift. With a content sigh, Gavin hurried on.

They went down a flight of stairs, past an old office area, until they reached an opening in the building where they both halted in their tracks as a giraffe stood ahead of them, munching on the leaves of the tree growing its way inside the building. As Gavin noticed the way Michael was staring at it – absolute captivation in those brown eyes of his – he walked over to the tall animal and gestured Michael toward it.

Michael blinked hard, ridding himself of that mesmerized look he just had. “What?” He asked Gavin casually. Gavin couldn’t even resist smiling then.

“You like giraffes, Michael?”

“They’re pretty cool. Their necks are long as shit and that’s… cool,” Michael shrugged. Gavin snorted.

“You wouldn’t have run all the way over here to see it up close if you just thought it was ‘cool’.”

Michael rolled his eyes, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen another animal that wasn’t an infected dog, or a squirrel, bird, dee- it’s just been a long time. It’s nice to see something different for once.” Again, Gavin gestured toward it, and after a moment of hesitation, Michael made his way up to the giraffe.

He wasn’t expecting to do anything else, but then Gavin was gently grabbing his hand and placing it on its neck. Michael flinched a little when the giraffe idly glanced at his face, but then it resumed eating peacefully, and Michael figured that was the “okay” to pet it. He put his hand down once the giraffe began to move away, and he was only slightly caught off guard by Gavin being the one to rush after it now.

“Michael, come on! Let’s see where it’s headed!” Michael had no complaints to give as he happily followed him. The two had to go down a few more stairs before they found themselves pushing open a door together and stepping out onto a balcony where they could oversee a field – a bright green field that more than one giraffe roamed.

Michael’s lips parted as he approached the iron railing, the gentle breeze brushing against his skin and curly hair. But the best part for him, was how that wind blew across the grass, the leaves in the trees, making the scene unfolding in front of him all the more breathtaking. He got himself comfortable, resting his elbows on top of the railing as his chin rested on his hands.

Gavin lingered behind a moment, simply admiring the way Michael stood there, relaxed and calm, and the vibrant, inviting colors coming from the grass and giraffes just ahead of him. It was all so… beautiful. And Gavin allowed himself to just take it all in from where he stood before moving up forward to be right next to Michael. The simplicity of it all, of them being able to just stand there and enjoy a pretty view with lovely weather, where live and healthy animals were actually passing them by, well, it was almost overwhelming.

After eleven years of living in fear of getting bit and infected, of finding themselves in trouble over one thing or another, and of the limitations of food, it felt as if peaceful moments like this couldn’t exist anymore. Beauty was still around, and Gavin was witnessing just how true that was with his own two eyes – in front of him and even right by his side.

His gaze shifted to Michael and his lips immediately curled up into a crooked smile at the sight he saw there. The sun’s rays above were hitting Michael in a way that made his auburn curls seem practically golden, along with his brown eyes. Michael appeared too enthralled by the giraffes, or perhaps just too deep in thought, to notice Gavin’s stare. A part of Gavin was a little relieved by that.

They both deserved this moment – a moment away from the reality of what was really happening around them. However, it couldn’t last, and Gavin took a deep breath before taking a step back and turning toward the next door that would lead them down and away from the building. Michael noticed that, but he gave himself another minute or so, and then he pulled away from the railing as well. He slowly stepped around Gavin to open the door first, but Gavin stopped him by placing a hand on his arm. Michael looked over at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“I just want you to remember that we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Gavin told him. There was some slight hesitation in his tone that made Michael’s expression soften.

“Like we talked about before, I’m _absolutely_ determined to do this,” Michael averted his eyes, “… especially for Lindsay. I have to… I have to make things okay in the world, because that’s what she wanted. I couldn’t save her, so this is the next best thing I can do. Nothing’s going to stop me from doing that.”

That was good enough for Gavin. Gavin smiled sadly at him before opening up the door and letting Michael go through first.

“Can I ask you something, though?” Michael spoke up again as they made their way down the stairs.

“Of course, love.”

“What do you think the Fireflies are going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, shit, I bet right now they have no fucking idea that someone’s about to appear on their doorstep saying, ‘hey, I was bit last summer and I haven’t turned. I’m immune’! I’m guessing they’re not gonna know what to think or do, but once they realize I’m not kidding around, what’s next? Are they gonna take my blood or something for testing?”

“I would assume so, but I’m not a doctor, Michael.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Thank god for that.”

“What, you don’t think I’d make a good doctor?”

“For a porno, maybe.”

“ _Michael_.”

“I want to say I’m just joking, but…” Michael trailed off as he began to laugh. Gavin squinted his eyes at him, but he could feel the corners of his lips tugging upward. Without a word, Michael continued to grin brightly as he grabbed Gavin’s hand and carefully intertwined their fingers together.

The two of them made their way down the flight of steps, all the way until they were outside again, on the lowest ground where the giraffes had just been. And they quickly made their way across the wide, dark green field, and toward the hospital building in the distance. It was looking closer and closer, yet they were prepared to come across another obstacle.

After crossing that field, they found themselves near a triage, each of them nearly empty by now, but they took that as a good sign. Perhaps the Fireflies decided to remain indoors instead and took their most important supplies with them. Well, it was mostly Michael who was thinking that, along with many more possibilities. Gavin tried pushing away the slight worry building up inside; he wasn’t ready to see Michael disappointed again that no Fireflies are around.

Michael must have sensed that worry, because he suddenly spoke, “This time will be different.” He sounded determined to make, not only Gavin believe that, but himself as well.

Gavin looked away from a particular medical kit he’d been eying and looked forward at Michael instead. “What do you mean?” But he knew what Michael meant.

“The Fireflies are going to be there—I just know they will.”

 _I hope so, Michael_ , Gavin almost said out loud, but he bit down on his lower lip to prevent himself from doing so. As they made their way through the row of tents, Gavin couldn’t ignore the terrible sense of déjà vu. He really didn’t want them wandering into an empty hospital to find another recorder that said the Fireflies relocated _once again_ , or that it was officially over.

Michael worked too damn hard to get this far. After everything they had to go through in the past year… after everything Michael had to do. It couldn’t be for nothing.

And as they approached an empty bus and made their way through it, Gavin could already see their upcoming, and hopefully final, obstacle awaiting them. It was another tunnel, and they could already hear the screeches from miles away. They helped each other climb up onto an abandoned truck that was blocking the entrance, and that’s where they momentarily froze with their mouths agape and eyes wide.

There was a very good reason for the truck being there, because there wasn’t one… or two… or three, or five. There had to be at least fifteen of them, but neither of them wanted to actually count in case there were more than that. The Clickers merely stood around, some huddled together in a circle while the others were scattered around.

Gavin closed his mouth shut and focused on searching for their way through. To the right stood two Clickers in a row while a third slowly walked around them. Gavin’s eyebrow rose suddenly. If those three were taken care of, he and Michael could quietly jump off the truck and slowly escape through the small safe path that would create.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Gavin reached back to grab his bow and an arrow. Michael blinked hard and turned to him to figure out his motives. For a second, he honestly thought Gavin was going to attempt to take each of them out, or at least as many as he could with seven arrows. Gavin attached the arrow to the bow and nodded toward the three Clickers, hoping Michael would understand. Michael shifted his gaze to the particular trio just as Gavin released the first arrow.

One of the Clickers standing still went down in an instant as the arrow successfully hit its head. Infected that wasn’t moving were always the easiest targets, and therefore, Gavin waited until the moving Clicker made its round before going in for the second standing Clicker.

Two down. One to go.

A moving target wasn’t entirely difficult, but it did require a bit more concentration and patience, both of which Gavin was lacking then and there. He could feel his hands shaking a little with uncertainty. He could hear his heart rate speeding up with every passing minute. And just knowing how he was doing this for Michael wasn’t helping.

If he was the cause of Michael’s mission failure, he knew he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to think about brown eyes without the guilt overtaking his being. They were so close. Just beyond this tunnel. He just needed to take down that third Clicker and they could slowly make their way past the many others.

He found himself gulping as he attached another arrow.

“Gavin,” Michael whispered. Gavin had almost chose to ignore him so that he could concentrate better, and he could have. But Michael… _frustrating_ , short-tempered, but absolutely lovely and honest Michael, decided this moment was the right time to go on and say, “I love you.”

Gavin was sure his heart erupted at how beautiful those words sounded coming from Michael’s mouth that he had to lower his arms and fully face him. His breath even hitched slightly in his throat to see the absolute sincerity in Michael’s eyes. He’s heard Michael say those words to him, plenty of times when they would hang out together in high school, but never like this. There was a different meaning behind those words. It wasn’t “I really care about you and enjoy our time together, because you’re my best friend” like it used to be, and that’s what had Gavin at a loss for words.

Michael stepped closer to him and leaned in only to press a small kiss to Gavin’s cheek. The rough hair from Gavin’s beard scratched his lips slightly, but he learned that he liked the feeling. He liked Gavin and everything about him, so much that he’d found himself slowly falling in love with him from the moment they met again a year ago. The past few days, he’s had a lot of things on his mind, ranging from the Fireflies and what was going to happen with them, and Gavin and how he wasn’t sure where he’d be if it weren’t for finding Gavin again. If he hadn’t ran into that building that evening, would he still be alive today? Would he have ever been this close to his destination?

He knew the answers to both—no, he wouldn’t.

He had Gavin to thank for everything. For keeping him alive, for getting him where he needed to go even after Ray and Ryan left them, and for returning the light back into his life, because he truly thought it was gone for good after Lindsay.

Michael took a deep breath and gestured toward the bow. He had finally said what he had been urging to say, and they needed to keep moving before the fear they were burying inside overtook them both. Gavin, however, wasn’t about done with this moment yet. He gently grabbed Michael’s wrist, preventing him from stepping away and giving him space, and pulled him even closer. Michael stiffened, but otherwise, he didn’t protest.

“Can I kiss you?” Gavin asked him, so soft and quiet. He even wore an amazed expression on his face that could have convinced Michael that nothing was wrong in the world, if it weren’t for the constant noises coming from the Clickers below. 

Michael smirked as he brought his hand up and placed it on the back of Gavin’s head. They both partook in shutting the gap between their mouths, and it was just one long press of their lips before Gavin abruptly pulled away. Michael’s brows twitched together at the sudden abruptness, but he stepped back as he began to see Gavin preparing his bow and stance once more.

With a sharp intake of air, Gavin released the arrow and watched as it flung through the air, all the way until it lodged right into the Clicker’s temple. The Clicker fell over, utterly lifeless now, and Gavin exhaled.

“Yeah, I would have never been able to fucking do that in one shot,” Michael whispered to him. Gavin grinned back at him in response, but when Michael slowly crouched down to prepare his jump off the truck, Gavin’s smile immediately faltered into a scowl.

“I’ll go first,” he insisted, practically hissing at Michael.

“What am I, a god damn child?”

“Michael.”

“I’ll be fine. You cleared the path, now I’ll lead the way. Teamwork.”

Gavin backed off then and Michael proceeded to jumping off the truck. The slight thud his shoes made the second he landed on the gravel road below did catch the Clicker’s interest, but as he stood frozen in place, he quickly realized it wasn’t enough to lead the Clickers toward him. In fact, the infected merely went back to what they were originally doing instead of trying to investigate the small sound. Therefore, Michael signaled for Gavin to follow him, but he didn’t wait for Gavin to jump down and be at his side before he started walking quietly.

It didn’t matter, because Gavin wasn’t too far behind.

Making their way around the other Clickers through that small opening Gavin made proved to be simple. They wouldn’t deny that their hearts weren’t pounding painfully in their chests and that breathing was proving to be difficult, but none of the Clickers sensed or heard them walk by. And they were just about halfway to another truck that was blocking their way when Michael saw something rush past them from his peripheral vision.

He halted in his tracks and turned his head to the left. Of course he saw nothing. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him, because he and Gavin were still a little too close to those Clickers. But then he saw it again—just a flash in the corner of his eye.

“What the fu-” he earned his answer before he could finish getting the words out. A Stalker ran out of its hiding spot and toward him, its screams echoing off the walls, enough to be heard all throughout the tunnel. Michael hurriedly brought his hands up to hold it still by its shoulders, but a glance over it revealed that even more of them were hiding around and watching him and Gavin.

“Oh, shit, Gav… there’s more of them-” he was barely able to say as an arrow shot through the air and hit the Stalker that Michael was holding back. Michael pushed its _dead_ body aside and jumped at the agonizing, clicking sounds approaching them. When he and Gavin looked over, their mouths fell open as they saw the crowd of Clickers heading for them.

And one thing about the Infected… they could still run, and they could run fast.

Michael and Gavin took off toward the next truck. The other Stalkers rushed out of their hiding spots to go after them as well, the two managed to get way ahead of the Infected and reach the truck first. With no ladder or anything they could step on to climb up to the top, Michael hurriedly cupped his hands once more for Gavin. And though Gavin was hesitate on going up first, he decided it was best to go with it than to waste time trying to convince Michael to go first.

He quickly pushed himself up and immediately turned around to reach his hand down for Michael. As Michael prepared to jump up and grab his hand, Gavin looked up and gasped at how close the Clickers, especially the Stalkers, were. Any second now, they would be right behind Michael and making a grab at him at once. And just as Gavin’s imagination was beginning to run wild with the possibilities of that happening, he felt Michael’s hand in his, and as best as he could, he pulled him up.

It wasn’t difficult, due to the fact that Michael was doing most of the work with pushing himself up. But the sight of a few Stalkers making it to the truck in time to touch Michael’s feet almost scared Gavin enough to drop Michael.

The Stalkers made their attempt to climb up as well, but with the chaos of all the Clickers surrounding them, they found difficulty in succeeding. Michael and Gavin got to their feet and looked down at them in horror. Gavin then peeked over to the other side to see shallow water below and up ahead.

“Ready?” He asked Michael, not taking his eyes off the green and possibly terribly cold water. Michael looked over as well, finally, and sighed.

Together, they jumped off the truck and splashed into the water. And it certainly was cold, but it wasn’t too bad. Gavin and Michael rose at the same time, gasping for air and searching for each other. Despite the Infected on the other side of the truck still attempting to go after them, Gavin found himself smiling at the way Michael’s curls fell flat against his forehead.

“I love you, too, Michael,” he uttered, swimming forward to kiss Michael once on the lips. But Michael held him in place to kiss him just a little longer, yet he had to pull away after a moment. And upon seeing the offended look on Michael’s face, he mumbled an apology.

Michael shook his head, “No, Gavin, it’s okay. I just… is something wrong?” Gavin averted his eyes and Michael’s expression softened.

“Michael, I’m scared,” Gavin admitted, flinching at a particular bang one of the Infected made against the truck.

“I don’t think they can get us,” Michael assured him.

“I don’t mean them.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I’m scared… I’m scared of something happening to you.”

Michael smiled softly at him and gently grabbed his face as he said, “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Gav. Just like nothing’s going to you… again. Ever. Okay? We’ll be okay, because it’s you and me. We’re a good team. We’ve always been a good team.”

Gavin swallowed roughly before breathing out a laugh and shrugging. “Yeah, yeah… of course. I don’t know why I’m worrying myself over nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, Gav. I get scared, too. But we should probably fucking go now, just in case they do figure out how to get over that truck.”

They swan down the tunnel until they reached another blockage in their way. Part of the road above had collapsed and created a wall underneath. There was a slight opening between that they could squeeze through. They had already been able to hear it, but peeking through the hole they could see the water was running rapidly on the other side.

“Okay, well, just be careful once you jump into that water,” Michael told Gavin as he moved aside to allow him to go through first. Gavin nodded and hurried through, but he hadn’t expected the water to pull him the way it did.

There were various vehicles, mostly underneath the water, but parts of them were sticking out, so Gavin grabbed onto an open car door’s window that was just barely peeking out of the water. Michael met up with him there mere seconds later and they instantly climbed onto the car’s roof. With the other vehicles around them, they decided it was better to carefully jump from one to another than allow the water to take them.

Toward the middle was a bus turned over onto its side, creating a dangerously convenient bridge to a ledge on the right. Gavin and Michael took running starts to ensure that their jumps would get them onto the next vehicle without falling into the water. Although, there were certain cars that had Gavin wanting to crawl on them rather than walk because of how wobbly they felt against the pressure of the water. 

“Just one more jump, Gav, and then we’ll be on our way to that ledge,” Michael told him. Gavin stood still as he reached the edge of the last car and looked up to the bus nearby. His gaze dropped to see the way the water was rushing through and around it, and he took a deep breath.

“I’m not too sure about that bus anymore, Michael.”

“We’ll be fine, and even if we do fall, at least we know how to swim.”

“I don’t really like swimming in water that’s faster than me.”

“What other choice do we have? We can’t go back now.”

Fair enough. Gavin licked his dry lips and moved back to do his running start. Michael almost couldn’t watch Gavin make his jump, but he sighed in relief when he saw Gavin land right onto that bus. The Brit’s arms flailed slightly as he attempted to regain his balance, and Michael bit down on his bottom lip to prevent his laughter from escaping.

Turning around, Gavin signaled for Michael to join him. Michael rushed forward and leaped onto the bus, except he had jumped too far behind, and barely managed to grab onto the ledge of the bus.

“ _Michael_!” Gavin fell onto his knees to grab him, but the water splashed against the bus particularly roughly, and Michael slipped off while Gavin frantically attempted to grab onto something to hold on.

Michael quickly rose from the water and was pushed forward into the bus through the backdoors. Gavin could see Michael underneath him through the windows and felt his breath hitch in his throat. He turned around and hurried to the other side, toward the front of the bus where he hoped to pull open the doors and grab Michael from there. And he did managed to get there in time and do just that, except for grabbing Michael.

Gavin held out his hand, desperately reaching for him, but their fingers only managed to brush before he saw Michael go underwater after crashing particularly hard into a metal pole. He cried out for Michael until realizing that would do him no good at all, and then he hurriedly jumped off the bus and went underwater to search for him. Michael looked like a lifeless, floating corpse when Gavin finally spotted him, and it only persuaded Gavin to move faster than the water already was.

As soon as he was able to grab onto Michael, he felt a little bit of relief wash over him. That relief barely increased when he reached the surface again and inhaled sharply. They had reached the end of the long, dreadful tunnel. All that was left to do was pull Michael up onto the dry land. He dragged Michael up enough to examine him and much to his horror, he couldn’t feel Michael’s breath when he leaned his face in closer.

“No… no, no,” Gavin shook his head as he started frantically pushing down on Michael’s chest. He was taught CPR once in high school, and he hardly remembered a thing. He was merely going with his instincts at this point. He just needed to get Michael to breathe again. _Just breathe_.

When pushing down on Michael’s chest with his hands wasn’t working, Gavin gently parted Michael’s lips, enough to allow air into his mouth. But just as Gavin went in to try that method, he heard the clicks of gun’s reloading.

“Put your hands up!” An angry voice demanded. Gavin looked up to find a group of four Fireflies standing around them now.

“He’s not breathing,” Gavin told them. “Please, help him.”

“I said _put your hands up_.”

“You don’t understand. You have to save him! He’s the cure- h-he’s _immune_ -” though Gavin was cut short by the same man hitting the side of his head with the back of his assault rifle.

And his world descended into darkness.


	6. The End of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs of the chapter: “[All Gone (No Escape)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBi9lr176uA)” and “[The Path (A New Beginning)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_RwQysgA8)”. Just two more songs from the game that I listened to on like repeat while writing this chapter. Haha.

Gavin awoke with a gasp as he sat upright. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as everything slowly came back to him. Michael… _Michael_! He started to frantically look around his surroundings, noticing he was in a hospital, and he was on a hospital bed. And when he saw the Firefly standing guard at the door, he blinked hard to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“It’s okay… you’re okay,” a gentle voice spoke next to him. Gavin flinched and turned his head to find a woman he did not recognize sitting comfortably in a chair nearby. She could easily determine the distress in his eyes, for the next thing she said was, “He’s alive. They brought him back.”

Gavin breathed out a sigh of relief and she sat up, leaning closer to him.

“Where did you come from and how did you find us?”

“Boston. Um, Geoff Ramsey-”

“Oh, I knew you seemed familiar. You’re Gavin. My name is Marlene.”

At that, Gavin’s eyebrows twitched together.

“He was a Firefly once, and he could never stop talking about you. He also showed me a few pictures.” Gavin nodded, because really, that didn’t surprise him. Marlene then smiled faintly. “You came all this way… how’d you do it?”

Gavin rested his head back down momentarily, exhaustion catching up with him. “It was him. He fought like hell to get here.” He sat back up again, lifting himself off the bed as much as he could. “Let me go see him.”

“You don’t have to worry about him. We’ll take care of-”

“Don’t tell me not to worry,” Gavin interrupted her, holding up his hand as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed, “I worry. I love him. Just… let me see him. Please.”

Marlene stood from her chair and walked over to the wall. For a moment, she didn’t move or say anything. Gavin contemplated speaking up, for the sake of breaking the silence, but then Marlene turned back around.

“You can’t. He’s being prepped for surgery,” oh, she almost struggled saying that, and rightfully so. Gavin’s breath hitched in his throat.

“ _What_?” He asked, jumping to his feet.

“The doctors tell me that the cordyceps, the growth inside him, has somehow mutated. It’s why he’s immune.”

Gavin felt his mouth slowly fall open as he listened, and he barely acknowledged that the guard had moved to stand next to him. Marlene sighed before continuing.

“Once they remove it, they’ll be able to reverse engineer a vaccine,” she pursed her lips, her eyes even watering slightly, like she couldn’t believe what she was saying either. Unlike Gavin, though, she was clearly amazed by her news. “A _vaccine_.”

“Remove it? How are they going to do that? It grows all over the brai-” Gavin abruptly stopped talking, his eyes widening. _Oh_. He shook his head. Oh. “No… find someone else.”

“There _is_ no one else. Besides, he came to us on his terms, didn’t he?”

“You are _not_ going to take him away from me,” Gavin hardly noticed how deep his tone had become, how he was gritting his teeth at Marlene. He didn’t really take notice until the guard was placing his arm in front of him, to hold him back in case he dared to get closer to Marlene.

“I get it,” Marlene said, nodding. “But this isn’t about you, or me, or even him! There is _no_ other choice here.”

At that, Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that _bullshit_.” And then it was Marlene whose expression darkened. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in what she said to the guard next.

“March him out of here. He tries anything – shoot him,” but then she directed her attention to Gavin again, “Don’t waste this gift. Geoff and Griffon always talked highly of you. So, I know you can understand. One day.” With that, she turned away and headed out of the door into the corridor.

Gavin felt his heart drop and his stomach twisted until he was sure he was going to be sick. He would have bent over and covered his mouth if it weren’t for the guard nudging him in the direction of the door.

“Let’s go,” the man sternly demanded. Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to take a step forward. However, his legs were wobbly, but it only took a few more nudges from the guard to force him to push on.

He could hear his blood pumping in his ears. He could feel how painfully fast his heart was pounding. His breathing was quickening at the mere thought of what was about to occur to Michael – the person he loved so dearly, as he always had. He would have to continue living in this _disgusting_ world without him. That light Michael carried with him was going to just be gone.

 _Gone_ …

To save humanity.

 _Humanity_.

Gavin abruptly halted in his tracks.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He heard the guard ask from behind. Gavin barely glanced at him over his shoulder.

“Which way?” He blandly asked him. The guard pointed toward a specific direction with his rifle and Gavin resumed walking, but as soon as they walked past the counter where his backpack sat, he stopped again. And this time, he spun around and grabbed the Firefly by his neck before pushing him up against the wall.

The sudden ambush had caused the guard to drop his rifle, so Gavin reached into the man’s back pocket with his free hand and pulled out a hidden pistol. He couldn’t even be surprised that he did find a gun there. Everyone was clever enough to carry more weapons on them than just the ones that were seen.

Holding the man still by the neck and pressing the tip of the pistol into his stomach, Gavin looked him deep in his eyes and snarled.

“Where’s the operating room?”

The Firefly didn’t respond as he struggled to breathe through his mouth. Gavin let out a low growl, shaking his head.

“I don’t have any time for this,” he pulled the trigger, and watched as the man withered in pain. “Where. Is. The. Operating. Room?” No answer. Gavin released another bullet.

The man grunted, his eyes slowly watering in agony. “T-third… floor.”

“Ah, that’s better, mate,” Gavin deviously smirked at him before shooting him once more and stepping back to watch him drop dead onto the floor. For a moment, Gavin merely stared at him, though he couldn’t say he felt any ounce of sympathy for killing him. He wanted an answer and he got it, the only way he could. It was what needed to be done.

“Over here! I heard gunshots!” Gavin gasped quietly at the new voices coming down the hallway that would lead into the one he was standing in.

“Oh, bollocks,” Gavin breathed as he grabbed his backpack and rushed into the nearest room. He ducked down behind a table and put his backpack on before checking the pistol he’d taken from the Firefly. It had enough for him to make it past these men that were now searching the area.

But he knew if moved quietly enough, he wouldn’t need to use the gun at all. Besides, he other useful and silent weapons at his disposal. When he could see the shadows of the nearing soldiers, he braced himself as he reached back for his bow. Maybe he didn’t need each of them dead, but he definitely knew there was too many of them, and he had to get rid of some of them if he wanted to make to Michael in time.

His breath hitched in his throat as he saw the first man peeking his head into the room he was hiding in. He reached back and grabbed an arrow, his heart picking up pace.

 _Well, apologies, mate_. Gavin attached the arrow to his bow, quickly aimed, and released. Since the man was wearing a helmet, Gavin purposely aimed for his neck instead, because he was sure the man was also wearing armor and probably a bulletproof vest around his chest. He watched with a sickening sense of pride as the Firefly soldier made an agonizing gagging noise, his hands wildly going up to pull out the arrow before falling backwards in defeat.

“Holy shit,” he heard the second soldier say, no doubt from catching sight of his now dead friend. Gavin hurried with another arrow, because he wasn’t going to risk this next guy alerting the rest of the Fireflies before he could find another hiding spot.

Gavin moved away from the table, only enough to see his next target, and he took his next shot. Just as the first, the man choked on his own blood for a moment before it was utterly over for him. And Gavin sighed in relief.

“I think he’s over here!” He heard another yell from somewhere behind him. Gavin hurriedly put his bow away, jumped up onto his feet, and he hurried out into the hallway and into the room across right as the men turned the corner. Gavin hid behind a counter and peeked around it to see. He watched the soldiers through the open window—watched as they wandered into the room he was just in. And at that, he smirked before he slowly started crawling to the other end to sneak out through the other window.

As he drew closer, he noticed the small group of men standing a few feet away, but their eyes were trained on down the hallway instead of anywhere else around them. Gavin’s smirk was widening into a grin as he reached back for his once more, but he forgot to remember that there were still two other openings where he was.  

“I see him!” One of the men he’d been watching shouted. Gavin gasped and looked over his shoulder to see him standing in the doorway, rifle up and ready to shoot.

He knew it was stupid, but he felt he had no other choice, so he quickly jumped out the window and into the hallway where the two other soldiers had been standing and watching the other end. And those two men, having heard their friend announce that Gavin was found, didn’t hesitate to begin shooting in Gavin’s direction. Gavin stumbled a few times as he sped across and jumped into the next hospital room.

Though he landed face first onto the hard floor, he wasted no time in regaining himself and crawling underneath the bed as the men began to pile around to search for him. Momentarily in the clear, he took the time to check himself, but he hadn’t been shot. He made it without a single bullet grazing him, and he couldn’t help but hear Ray’s voice in his head—praising him, as he always had whenever they managed to get out of ridiculously stupid and dangerous situations back in Boston.

Oh, at the moment, Gavin really felt like doing _anything_ to find himself in one of those situations with Ray instead of the one he was currently in. But no, he could do this. He _had_ to do this. It was different and it was damn difficult, because he wasn’t just risking his life for food and supplies, but he was doing this for _Michael_ , and he couldn’t think of anything else that mattered more to him. 

 _I’ll save you, love. They’re not going to hurt you. I promise_ , he almost wished Michael could hear his thoughts somehow.

Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat and froze still as he saw feet enter the room. He followed those feet with his eyes, from the doorway to the window he had jumped through. The soldier was just about to walk back out when he suddenly halted and faced the bed.

Thank goodness it was impossible to hear someone’s heartbeat without a stethoscope, because his was pounding painfully in his chest that could have easily given his presence away if it was possible to hear it. The soldier must have given up whatever thought had crossed his mind, because he walked away again, and this time he left. Gavin exhaled slowly and quietly, closing his eyes to take in the small moment.

How the bloody hell was he still alive? He wasn’t sure, but he also didn’t want to question it too much.

Listening closely, he heard every footstep fade away, further from him. Therefore, he crawled out from underneath the bed and stood, but he was cautious stepping out into the open. He could hardly get his feet to actually move, but he managed to walk slowly as he frantically looked around. And just when he was actually about to believe the men had left the area, he heard one of them talk as they stepped out of a room up ahead.

Gavin was able to crouch down behind a few stacked storage totes before the soldier turned his head to look in his direction. But Gavin could hear him getting closer, so he took the little time he had to take his backpack off and search within it for anything else he could use other than his bow. When his fingers brushed against something strange, he took hold of it and pulled it out to find himself holding a smoke bomb in his hand. He remembered Ryan creating many of those one night while they were taking a long awaited and deserved rest, but he hadn’t noticed when Ryan had snuck a few into his backpack. After really getting to know Ryan and who he was, it did seem like something Ryan would do. And thank goodness for that.

“I’ll check back over here again,” the soldier called back to his friends, his voice dangerously close to Gavin, but Gavin was ready for his next move.

The second that man was in his sights, Gavin launched himself at him and threw him up against the nearest wall before pushing the rifle up in time for the guy to shoot himself underneath his chin.

“Son of a _bitch_!” Another shouted, but before he could shoot at Gavin, Gavin threw his arm forward, tossing the bomb. At first, it merely slapped the man across the face and did nothing as it landed onto the floor. Gavin was left standing there with a mouth wide open, dumbfounded and a little bit angry at the slight possibility of Ryan purposely giving him a dud. The soldier was ready to laugh, but he barely got a breath out as the bomb finally exploded. Gavin stumbled backwards as smoke enveloped the hallway, and he brought his hand up to cover his mouth as the overwhelming urge to cough came over him.

He couldn’t see anything—which was the point, but he had meant for this to be difficult for them, not him too. He helplessly patted the wall until he felt an opening and ran into another room. He reached into his backpack and pulled out another bomb, because he could already hear the crowd of more Fireflies making their way toward the area.

Gavin jumped on out of the room and tossed the small bomb up and down in his hand as he approached the voices of men telling each other where to look for him. With his heart still drumming wildly and his legs wobbly, he narrowed his eyes as he spotted them.

“Am I who you’re searching for?!” He asked them, throwing his arms up. At once, they all spun around to glare at him. And in unison, they raised their weapons. “Well, congratulations. You’ve found me, lads.” Gavin then grinned as he tossed the second bomb at them. That one hardly took a second to explode, and because of the distance this time Gavin wasn’t blinded by the smoke as much as they were.

He could hear them coughing and spurring of swears of hatred at him, but Gavin merely ran around the smoke and toward the entrance into the next area. Up ahead, he could see a sign pointing toward double doors with an image of a staircase. He began to run faster toward it and reached out to grab the door knobs, but someone else pushed open the doors first. Gavin halted in his tracks and found himself face-to-face with another Firefly.

And he gasped.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!” The Firefly demanded. He looked toward the hallway Gavin had just come from and shouted, “HE’S OVER HERE!” Gavin’s petrified expression faded at once as he furrowed his eyes and snarled at the Firefly.

“ _Shut up_ ,” he practically barked. The Firefly stared back at him, a mutual dislike.

“You’re not supposed to _be_ _here_!”

“I said ‘ _shut up’_!” Gavin screamed as he roughly grabbed the man by the neck with both of his hands. He didn’t even hesitate for a bit as he tightened his grip. “It’s too bad you weren’t smart enough to be carrying around a rifle like your friends over there, mate. But my thanks to you for making my job _a lot_ easier.”

The man was gasping for air and failing as he attempted to pry Gavin’s hands off his neck. Gavin gritted his teeth harder, but when he heard the thundering footsteps of the others coming closer, he groaned and simply pushed the man aside. The man was much too occupied with coughing and enjoying the relief of being able to breathe once more to stop Gavin. Gavin used the opportunity to open up the doors and run through before shutting them behind him. He quickly grabbed one of the chairs nearby and placed its legs into the long, wide doorknobs, right in-between the two doors.

“That should buy me a little bit of time,” he mumbled to himself as he started to run up the steps until he found the next open door. It seemed quiet and empty, but he knew better than to believe none of them were somewhere around there. Even so, he moved quickly through, heading down a wide hallway that led three ways.

To the right, there were windows that viewed outside, and his heart jumped with excitement when he realized how close he was getting. He ran up toward the windows and pressed his hands against them, staring intently at the last room he could see with lights on.

“That has to be it,” he whispered. “Michael… Michael, I’m almost there.” But in the meantime, he knew he was going to have more company to deal with. He could see the shadows of people walking around in the next hallway nearby. It was just a matter of moments before he had to confront them to get to Michael. And he decided, better to just get it over with as fast as he could.

Taking a deep breath, Gavin pulled himself away from the windows and headed toward the next hallway. He reached back and grabbed his bow, along with a few arrows, and he ignored his trembling hands as he walked tall and… _sort of_ brave. Well, if he could almost strangle a man to death with his own bare hands, he could sneak around five more Fireflies.

He began by getting on his knees and deciding crawling was his best shot with getting around them. He figured he could find ways to shoot each of them from behind without them having to spot him once. Or even better… he could sneak around them and right into the last hallway without them noticing.

Something about that idea felt more fulfilling to him. Swallowing hard, Gavin continued on. He found something to hide behind and remained there until he was certain there weren’t too many footsteps wandering near him. Then he would move onto his next hiding spot, but when he felt closer to them, he attempted to take a peek at where exactly each of them were positioned.

Three walking back and forth from the middle to the front, right near where he was. And then there were two others standing guard by the double doors. Those particular two were going to prove to be the biggest challenge for Gavin to get the hell out. Perhaps he would have _some_ killing to do.

After he and Michael were out of this, everything would be okay. This was just one last rough path for the two of them. One they had to defeat to earn the peace they deserve. It would all be worth it in the end, once they were back with Geoff and Griffon.

Determination set back into his mind, Gavin crawled on over to his next spot where he found a lone glass jar on the counter above him. His eyes shifted to the two guarding the doors, and then over to the three were currently closer to the other side than they were to the doors. Gavin smirked as he grabbed the jar and stood slightly. It wasn’t enough to be easily spotted, but definitely for him to carefully aim at the part of the wall that was closest to the two guards.

 _One… two… three_ … and he tossed it forward. The swoosh it made through the air was much louder than he anticipated, but the way it shattered against the wall was just as he had hoped it would.

“What the fuck was that?” One of the two asked. Gavin held back a grin, because as he had also hoped would happen happened. The second guard started to move away from the doors to investigate the shattered jar and where the hell it could have come from.

Remaining crouched, Gavin hurried through the row of rooms until he reached the final room. He was back on his knees then and he peeked out the window to see the first guard anxiously waiting for his friend to return at his side.

“ _Anything_?” He asked.

“No, but the son of a bitch is here,” his friend hissed. “That _had_ to be him. That was a warning. Motherfucker, _WHERE_ ARE YOU?!” Gavin bit down on his lower lip as he lifted his bow and arrow, his eyes glued to the first guard.

“We didn’t see any sign of him over here,” another said from the other side.

“Well you three obviously should have TRIED HARDER!”

“It doesn’t fucking matter. He got by us but he can’t get by-” whoever had been talking was cut short, evidently stunned by Gavin’s arrow successfully striking the first guard on the side of its head.

Well, Gavin hadn’t planned on anyone seeing him make his kill, but he didn’t mind having to make a run for it. He jumped to his feet and leaped through the window.

“THERE HE IS!”

“ _SHOOT HIM_!”

“ _NO_! STOP! GAVIN, _STOP_!” One of them begged. And everything did. No one else yelled or argued. There were gunshots or running. There was nothing but utter silence.

Despite everything, Gavin obliged as well and came to an abrupt halt in front of the doors. There weren’t many people in this world anymore that could know his face or name. And he was sure he knew exactly whose voice that belonged to, because it was one he knew well. One he used to _adore_ listening to. One that belonged to the _one_ person Ray loved teasing him about like they were teenagers back in high school. Or worse… junior high.

Gavin slowly turned his head to face her, hoping he was wrong, but he met her eyes and his heart sank. “Turney,” he blandly greeted, nodding once. Meg stood there, helmet now off to reveal her high ponytail, and the similar uniform. Unlike everyone else, however, she wasn’t aiming her rifle at Gavin; she merely held it at her side as she stared sadly at him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, not forgetting that he had no time to waste, but this was _Meg_ he was talking to. This was the girl he used to see every day who never understood the Fireflies’ intentions.

And now here she was, standing and fighting alongside them. He needed answers.

“You and Ray disappeared. Joel, Adam, and Barbara were captured. I didn’t know what to do,” she answered, shrugging. “When I was trying to find out where they were keeping them, I ran into Marlene, and she was bleeding from a wound on her side. She asked me if I was looking for Adam, Joel, and Barb, because she knew where they were. She led me to them and we helped them escape,” Meg averted her eyes.

“But Marlene was still bleeding and it wouldn’t stop. I repaid her the favor by stitching her up, even though she _insisted_ that I just leave. But the soldiers who had captured our friends… they came back, and I ran off with Marlene before they could see us. I guess I… I sort found myself stuck with her, and she… she talked to me. She explained everything and answered every question I had. I told her about you and Ray, and she told me I would see you again. It’s been so long now… I didn’t believe it anymore. But look,” she gestured toward them.

Gavin squinted his eyes. “That doesn’t explain why you would suddenly work with them.”

“Like I said, Gav, I got stuck with Marlene and I had nowhere else to go. I couldn’t go back. Joel, Adam, and Barb didn’t go back. I know it doesn’t make sense, Gavin, and I know I’m the last person you expected to see tonight, but I promise I’m still the same Meg you knew then. I’m still _me_ and I won’t hurt you. Just… please… walk away now. We’ll let you go.”

“No,” Gavin immediately answered, shaking his head. “You’re going to kill him. You’re all so desperate for a _fucking_ cure that you’re willing to _kill_ someone for something that might not even work!”

“Who is he, anyway? Why is he worth all of this mess? Why is he worth you risking _your life_ for his?”

Gavin blinked a few times and stepped back, away from her. But then he realized that he had never spoken about Michael to anyone in Boston. Not her, not Ray, not anyone. And it was funny, really, considering how important Michael had always been to him, but none of his friends had ever known that. He frowned as he looked her in the eyes again, “His name is Michael Jones and he is worth _everything_.”

Meg deeply frowned at those words, her eyebrows twitching together, and Gavin almost wondered if he should apologize. But there was nothing to apologize for.

Well… except maybe for…

In one swift movement, he raised his bow and arrow again and went right for the man standing to Meg’s right. He didn’t stay to watch as the arrow plundered its way into the man’s right eye, but he certainly did hear the agonized cry he let out. The stunt had been enough to catch all of them off guard and allow Gavin the time to turn around and make his only escape. He barely managed to catch his balance as he pushed open the doors and practically fell into the next corridor. However, he was still able to regain himself quick enough to drag a few of the filing cabinets stacked up in the corner and block the door. Just as he finished doing that, he flinched as the banging on the doors from the other side began.

“I’m sorry, Gavin,” he could faintly hear Meg say. His face fell for a moment, along with his shoulders slumping.

It really had been a year, hadn’t it? Well, it felt more like a decade now.

“Me too, Turney,” he whispered.

“YOU’RE NOT LEAVING HERE ALIVE!” One of the other Fireflies then threatened. Gavin furrowed his eyebrows at that. Never mind. He took it back. He wasn’t sorry for anything.

“I’m already much further than you expected me to get!” He yelled back through gritted teeth before turning on his heels and running down the hallway. He was so close to Michael. So damn close. Now he just needed to fucking hope they hadn’t started operating on Michael yet. He had to _hope_ he wasn’t too late.

He opened up the door at the end of the hall and walked inside to see the shadows from the operating room beyond the wall illuminating the small office. There was three of them standing or moving around, but the particular shadow that caught his attention was the one of a figure lying down. His heart jumped as he noticed one of the moving shadows nearing that lying figure.

Without another thought, he pushed his way through the next door. The surgeon was completely startled; he jumped back and pointed his scalpel at Gavin, like that would do him any good. The two nurses standing around had their hands up and their eyes wide as they feared what Gavin might do.

“Get away from him,” Gavin growled at the surgeon.

“Just… walk away now, okay? You don’t want to do this.”

Gavin laughed, bitterly and loud. “After everything I’ve had to go through, killing you with my own two hands would be the best thing I’ve done.” He marched forward and the surgeon attempted to make himself seem taller, but Gavin wasn’t fazed by any of it as he swiftly grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the scalpel.

“NO, PLEASE DON’T!” One of the nurses cried.

Gavin rolled his eyes before forcefully making the surgeon point the knife at himself and then lunging it into his neck. Gavin released his wrist and pushed the slowly dying man aside, ignoring the cries and shouts from the same nurse. He hurried over to Michael’s side and carefully checked over Michael, seeing everything he was hooked up to. They had even replaced Michael’s clothes with the standard hospital gown, and Gavin almost starting seething over the fact that the Fireflies were seriously going to go through with this surgery.

“Oh, Michael… love,” Gavin gently ran his fingers through Michael’s tangled curls and took slight notice of his own trembling hand. “I’m getting you out of here, okay? We’ll be safe soon.” And then he jumped in fear at the sound of a heavy furniture being knocked over and doors breaking open.

Pursing his lips, Gavin yanked off the wires connected to Michael and quickly removed the oxygen mask from Michael’s mouth. He then proceeded to stick his arms underneath Michael; one arm going under Michael’s legs and the other going under Michael’s back. With as much strength as he could muster, he lifted Michael off the operating table just as he saw the lights from the Fireflies’ flashlights illuminating the walls of the office.

Luckily for him, the nurses were standing out of the way, not wanting to get anywhere near him. It made it easy for him to run toward the second exit of the operating room, and kick it open. On the counter next to the door was Michael’s backpack and quickly, Gavin grabbed it and pulled it off the counter by one of the straps before rushing out of there.

“Okay, love. We’re almost out of here. I promise we’ll make it out,” he assured Michael. Although, it was more to assure himself, because he knew Michael wasn’t listening, and he had absolutely no idea where to go.

He tried running as quickly as he could, but after all the running he had just gone, and now having to carry someone while running, wasn’t exactly simple for him.

“He’s carrying him toward the pediatrics. Get up here. Now!” He heard one of the Fireflies say into a ham radio. Alarms began to go off and Gavin cursed under his breath as he ran around corners and frantically looked around for any signs that would tell him where he was leading. There was one about elevators, but he hardly had any time to read it as doors ahead of him busted open and a small group of Fireflies ran into the hallway.

“He’s right _there_!” One of them shouted, flashing their light at him. Gavin immediately hurried into the room on his right and made his way through there to get around them.

Looking up, he saw another sign about the elevators and followed its directions. Gavin turned another corner and breathed out in relief to see those open elevators down the hall.

“This is your last chance. Drop him now!” They shouted behind him.

“I got him in my sights!” Another said.

“Get back!” He screamed over his shoulder before ducking slightly as the shots started going off. It didn’t matter anyway, because he made it to those elevators first, and he practically slammed his fist into the button that would lead them down.

“Hey! S-stop!” One of the men desperately shouted as he tried reaching the doors, but the doors shut in time. Gavin was breathing heavily at this point that he had to lean back against the wall for support.

As he waited for the elevator to reach the destination, he looked down at Michael in his arms, and his heart swelled. But they had done it. They had made it out of there alive. Then the elevator dinged and the doors opened, and after pressing the emergency stop button, Gavin looked up to find Marlene standing there, gun clutched in her hands.

“You can’t save him!” She threatened. “Even if you get him out of here, then what? How long before he’s torn to pieces by a pack of clickers, or even yourself?”

Gavin gently readjusted Michael in his arms and hardened his expression as he stared at Marlene. “That is not for you to decide.”

“It’s what he’d _want_ ,” she told him. Gavin merely averted his eyes, his face softening. Marlene tilted her head, “And you _know_ that. It’s why he willingly came all this way.” Gavin was almost pouting as he thought about it.

_“I have to make things okay in the world, because that’s what she wanted. I couldn’t save her, so this is the next best thing I can do.”_

Gavin blinked and glanced down at Michael’s face. Even in this state, Michael still managed to look lovely with those perfectly parted lips and loosely shut eyes. This _was_ what he wanted…

Gavin slid down the wall until he was sitting and Michael was just lying in his lap, the feel of defeat beginning to wash over him. He could feel the aching throb of his heart in his chest and it made his breaths come out in trembles. His eyelids fluttered as he tried to prevent his eyes from watering. It didn’t work. _“Nothing’s going to stop me from doing that.”_ He nuzzled the top of Michael’s head and a tear dropped down his cheek and onto Michael.

“Look,” Marlene spoke again, voice gentle and expression soft, and Gavin looked at her, wet eyes and quivering lower lip. She slowly let go of the gun with one hand, “You can still do the right thing here. I _promise_ you… he won’t feel anything.” Gavin did nothing as he watched her begin to approach him.

However, his grip on Michael eventually tightened, and he shook his head. “I can’t… I-I can’t let him go. I can’t… can’t lose him again.” Marlene was just about in front of them now and Gavin was ready to scream at her to go away.

But then, without warning, a gunshot went off. Gavin flinched, but his mouth fell agape as he watched blood spur from Marlene’s head before she lifelessly fell over. It wasn’t long after that the person revealed themselves by stepping into Gavin’s view and Gavin held his breath to see the familiar face.

Ryan mindlessly looked over Marlene, but he quickly became disinterested and wandered over to Gavin. He crouched down in front of him and for a moment, Gavin was unsure what Ryan planned to do. But then Ryan gave him a sad smile, ridding of all the emotionlessness from his face.

“I’ve got him,” he spoke, nodding toward Michael. Gavin inhaled sharply and shakily, but he nodded in return and allowed Ryan to take Michael from his arms. As soon as Ryan had him, he stood and moved away from Gavin as another familiar person walked up.

Ray held out his hand, his lips twitching up. “And I’ve got you.” Gavin’s lip continued to tremble as his vision blurred with tears, but he happily took Ray’s hand and got himself to his feet.

“We’ll take the car they have in here,” Ryan told them as he rushed out of the elevator and headed toward the vehicle.

Once there, Ray slid into the passenger’s side while Gavin took the back and helped Ryan gently lay Michael down next to him. In order to fit comfortably, Michael’s head had to be rested into Gavin’s lap. Gavin leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to Michael’s forehead as Ryan shut the door and got into the driver’s side.

They drove out of there and they didn’t dare to look back. Gavin sighed deeply and brought his hands up to rub his face.

“Why?” He finally asked, the word muffled behind his hands. Ryan glanced at him in the rear view mirror.

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean, Ryan. _Why_ did you save us? I thought you two would have made it there long before us.”

“We did,” Ray blandly answered with a nod, “but then we started talking, and Ryan realized what the Fireflies would have to do to Michael. We still could have gone through with our original plan, but once the day was over, we decided it would be better to wait and tell you two first. We thought we would see you before you made it to the hospital. Unfortunately, we didn’t, so we had to act fast when we heard the alarms going off.”

“Yeah, we figured those alarms meant you two were there and had realized what Michael’s fate was going to be, so you were trying to escape,” Ryan added. “I’m actually surprised about how we found you.”

Gavin gulped. “We were halfway to the hospital when Michael and I found ourselves in some trouble. A few Fireflies rescued us- well, I think they were just going to kill us and move on, but I managed to tell them about Michael’s condition before they knocked me out. I’m assuming they reconsidered once they saw that I was right. When I woke, I was told they were already prepping him for surgery… and I did _everything_ I needed to so that I could get to him.”

“Well, explaining to him what happened could go two ways,” Ryan said. Gavin’s eyebrows twitched together.

“What are the two options?” He asked.

“We could just tell him the truth: they were going to sacrifice him, and he will either be happy you saved him, or be angry that you ruined the entire reason he came all this way. Second option is that we could lie and say the Fireflies didn’t care anymore. But that second one won’t be easy for him to believe if he’s wearing that hospital gown. I’ll leave the decision to you.”

Gavin chewed on his lower lip as he thought about it, but really, neither option settled right with him. There was so many consequences to both and he wasn’t sure how Michael would react to either one. As he continued to silently think about it, Ray turned his head to look at him.

“Hey,” he spoke. Gavin stopped chewing on his lip as he locked eyes with him. Ray was frowning. “I’m sorry.”

At that, Gavin’s expression softened, and he shook his head. “Don’t be. I can’t believe they did that to your parents.”

Ray shrugged. “I’m just glad they didn’t get what they wanted.”

Gavin dropped his gaze down to Michael once more before running his fingers gently through Michael’s curls. He looked over at Michael’s backpack resting near his legs and sighed as something crossed his mind. He had a decision to make and he had little time to thoroughly think it over, because there was no telling how long Michael would be out, and Gavin didn’t want to risk him waking up before he even knew what to say.

Leaning down, Gavin paused, his lips almost brushing Michael’s forehead. “I’m doing this for you,” he whispered before placing a quick kiss there. Although he mentioned none of it, Ray had heard him clearly, and he sunk deeper into his seat as he patiently waited for Michael to wake up.

 

 

* * *

 

As Michael began to stir and groan weakly, Gavin stared down at him intently, his mentally rehearsed sentences playing through his mind once more. Then Michael was blinking open his eyes and looking up at him curiously.

“Gav… what happened? Where are we?” His voice was horribly raspy and exhausted that Gavin had to bite down on his lower lip to push back the small ache in his chest. Michael tried looking around as he noticed they were moving. When his eyes landed on Ryan driving up front, he furrowed his eyebrows. “ _Ryan_?”

“It’s okay, Michael,” Gavin whispered to him, soothing him by massaging his head. “Careful now.”

“But he… _okay_ … back to my first question, then,” Michael shifted his eyes back up to Gavin, “What happened?”

Gavin took a deep breath. Well, there was no turning back now. “We found the Fireflies,” he started. “Turns out… there’s a lot more like you… people who are immune, and nothing good has come of it, either,” he paused to recollect his thoughts. “They’ve actually… they’ve stopped looking for a cure. On my way out with you, I found Ray and Ryan. They had decided not to go through with their plan, because they wanted to wait for us. So, now we’re just going back to Geoff and Griffon… we’re going home.”

Michael slowly sat up and looked himself over. “Why the fuck am I wearing my other clothes, then? I don’t remember ever changing into this.”

“Michael, we were _drenched_ , and you were out cold. I didn’t want the wet clothes to make you worse.”

“And… they’ve just stopped looking for a cure?”

“Yes.”

Michael’s face fell, and without saying anything, he scooted away from Gavin.

Gavin frowned. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Michael pressed his head against the window and closed his eyes as an ache in his chest formed. Gavin shifted in his seat and sighed quietly, but he couldn’t rid of the guilt rising in his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, but this time, he didn’t say out loud, nor was he apologizing for the same reason again.  

 _“It’s what he’d_ want _. And you_ know _that.”_ Yes, he did. For a year now, he’s known that far too well. For the past months, Gavin’s been able to fully understand the lengths Michael was going to take to get to the Fireflies, because of how much he felt he owed it all to Lindsay. And yes, Gavin had utterly taken that opportunity away from him without discussing it with him first. But then again, the Fireflies were going to take Michael’s brain without asking first. So, really, they had both been in the wrong.

Although, there was a part of Gavin that feared and _knew_ that Michael would have said ‘yes’ if the Fireflies had asked him. Because the Infected had taken too many people Michael cared about, and he was desperate enough to do _anything_ to stop them. Even if it meant he had to be sacrificed in the process. But Michael hadn’t been awake, so Gavin answered for him. And yes, it was completely selfish, because he only did what _he_ wanted so that he wouldn’t have to lose Michael again.

At first, Gavin could admit he hadn’t cared. As long as Michael was alive and they were going to get back to Geoff and Griffon, he didn’t care about the consequences of taking Michael back. But now… now that he saw the absolute disappointment and failure in Michael’s eyes, he ached terribly.

The worst part was that he couldn’t tell if Michael was upset because he believe Gavin’s words… or because he knew it wasn’t the truth. Gavin knew how high the probability for the latter being the case. Michael was always clever at figuring people out.

But no. This time, he wouldn’t be successful. He couldn’t be. Gavin wouldn’t allow it, and he knew Ray and Ryan wouldn’t dare admit anything either, because their feelings on the matter were practically mutual.

“I’m sorry,” Gavin mouthed once more before turning away in his seat. 

 

* * *

 

_April 20, 2025_

They were stopped by a blocked off trail that would have led them straight to the plant the Ramsey’s were at. Ryan had turned the car off and got out to investigate the area, to see if there was any way they could drive around it. Ray was sitting still in the passenger’s seat, window down as the breeze from outside brushed against his face. Michael was sitting with his door open and half his body out of the car, and his head turned away from Gavin. Gavin was lying against his closed door as he watched Ryan up ahead.

After seeing there wasn’t any hope there, Ryan turned to the others and threw his hands up. “Looks like we’re walking from here,” he said.

“Alright, then,” Ray mumbled, immediately stepping out with his things. Ryan headed back to his side to grab his own backpack as well. Gavin took his time in getting out of the car while Michael already had his backpack on and was slamming the door behind him.

Gavin moved around the car to stand next to Michael, and he pretended not to notice how quickly Michael walked off to catch up with Ryan. Ryan was making an opening in an old, barbed wired fence for the three of them to get through. Michael went through first, Ray second, and Gavin third. Ray turned around to hold the wires up for Ryan to go through.

After doing so, Ryan and Ray began to lead the way, because Gavin purposely lingered behind with Michael. They were walking through a forest with a few run down trees they had to jump over, but something about that mixed with the sunlight poking through above added to the peacefulness of the area. The sounds of running water nearby was also calming to listen to, only reminding them of how close they were to their destination. Their absolute _final_ stop.

“It’s lovely out here, isn’t it?” Gavin eventually asked Michael, a weak attempt at conversation. Gavin just hadn’t been able to stand the utter silence between them anymore.

“Yeah,” Michael simply answered, a forced breathy laugh being snuck in there, and he was grateful Gavin didn’t question him further.

The four of them reached where the water was flowing past, and when they followed where it was headed, they saw the familiar various rows of buildings. Gavin could feel the corners of his lips almost involuntarily rising up until he was grinning lopsidedly.  

“There it is,” Ryan announced, and it was like music to Gavin’s ears. There it was… _home_.

“Just a little bit further now,” Ryan said as he jumped across the narrow stream of water and made his way up onto the cliff with the help of another fallen log. Ray went on up next, and Gavin signaled for Michael to go before him, but Michael shook his head.

“Okay,” Gavin shrugged and jumped on up onto the cliff first. He watched as Ryan and Ray continued on while he waited for Michael to get up as well.

As soon as Michael was up and standing on his feet, Gavin turned around to begin following Ray and Ryan, not even realizing that Michael had halted in his tracks completely. In fact, he probably wouldn’t have noticed at all if it weren’t for Michael calling out for him.

“Gavin.”

Gavin skidded to a stop and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Michael stuck his tongue out to wet his chapped lips as he seemed deep in thought, conflicted with what he was about to say. Gavin didn’t want to admit or show it, but he was growing a little anxious at the prolonged silence. Michael eventually took a few steps forward so that the space between them wasn’t as large, yet he still took another moment or so of silence.

And then, he groaned in annoyance. “Gav, I’ve known you since I was sixteen, right?” Gavin blinked in confusion, but he nodded nonetheless. “So, you can say we know each other enough to be able to tell when one of us is lying?”

“What are you going on about, Michael?”

“You wouldn’t lie to me about something that’s _really_ important, would you?” The condescending tone Michael was using and his squinted eyes made it difficult for Gavin to look at his face for too long.

“Of course I wouldn’t, Michael. What’s this about?” But Gavin didn’t have to ask. He already knew and it was making him nauseous.

“After _everything_ we had to go through, we _finally_ made it to Salt Lake City and find the Fireflies, but I’m not even awake for that second part. And then when I _do_ wake up, I find myself in a moving car with you, _Ray_ , and _Ryan_ , because the _Fireflies_ gave up on searching for a cure they’ve dedicated their _lives_ on finding for the past _eleven_ years.”

Gavin practically gulped as he listened to Michael speak, but he was determined on keeping his expression bland and collected. He couldn’t flinch. He couldn’t frown. He certainly could _not_ start talking and possibly overdo it by explaining _too_ much, otherwise he would give himself away right then and there. He couldn’t even _breathe_ the wrong way or else Michael would be able to tell.  

“It didn’t make sense to me, either, Mi-”

“Then _swear_ to me, Gavin,” Michael’s voice rose, along with his eyes widening and eyebrows furrowing in evident anger.

“What?” Gavin hoped he hadn’t squeaked.

“Swear to me that _everything_ you said about the Fireflies is true.”

This was it.

He couldn’t turn back now.

This was his chance. Michael was giving him the chance to come clean by opening the door _wide_ open for him to step through. Gavin sighed as he retained eye contact with Michael and…

He closed the door.

“I swear,” he answered, as calmly as he could possibly muster.

Michael’s expression softened, but he pursed his lips as he started to look over every inch of Gavin’s face. That nauseous feeling in Gavin was only increasing the longer Michael took to respond that he honestly felt ready to turn away and just allow it to happen. But he resisted and continued to wait.

And then, finally, Michael nodded.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now excuse me while I go write the “Left Behind” AU. :)


End file.
